War Zone
by Kate Manoso
Summary: Sequel to Bombs Away! What happened when Steph went to Alexander? What did she do for the last five months?
1. Phone calls

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters. Also, references to _V For Vendetta _and_ Batman_.

_A/N: Here's my sequel to Bombs Away! I hope that you enjoy it. A big THANK YOU goes to Rangercraving. I'd be lost without you, Linda. Kisses!_

_

* * *

_

August 15th 4:15 P.M.

"Hey, Handsome," I said into my cell when the other end was picked up.

"Bomber! Christ! It's been three weeks! Are you okay? Why did you disable the GPS tracker?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Ram," I said on a sigh. Leave it to a Merry Man to be concerned over GPS. "I turned off the tracker because I didn't need you guys watching every move that I make. You know exactly where I am. I'm sorry that I haven't called before. I've been kind of busy. How are you doing?"

"_I'm_ fine. It's the rest of the guys that you should be worried about," Ram said quietly.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You didn't say good bye to any of them. They are a little pissed."

"You know that I couldn't," I said as I slouched in the large leather chair that sat behind my desk. "I wouldn't have been able to leave if I saw them."

"I know that. They just don't understand why you left."

"I left because I had to. I need to find Stephanie," I said as I felt the back of my eyes start to burn. "Look. I just wanted to call and touch base."

"You should really call Ranger."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just think that you should call him."

"I'll think about it," I said on a sigh. I know that I should call him. I was just having a hard time getting up the courage to do it. That was one conversation that I was dreading more then calling my mother. She thought that I was completely off my rocker. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Steph."

"I'll call you later."

"You better."

"Bye," I sighed and then closed my phone.

_

* * *

_

August 29th 10:37 A.M.

"It's about damn time!" the voice boomed on the other end of my cell.

"I'm sorry, Ram."

"God damn it, Steph! I was waiting to get a call saying that they found your body in the river!"

"You're being a little over dramatic, Ram," I said with a smile as I looked out my office window at the beach. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Great! Then come home."

"You know that I can't right now," I said as I hit my head on the wall next to the window. I had just had the same conversation with my mother five minutes ago. "I'm not ready yet."

"Why haven't you called Ranger?" Ram demanded.

"Because I'm not ready for that either."

"So, you're only talking to me?"

"For now. How are the guys?"

"Tank has been hammering me because Lula is freaking out. You should at least call her. She is one of your best friends."

"I'll call her tonight. Would that make you happy?"

"As long as it gets Tank off my ass," Ram laughed.

"That sounds like a personal problem," I said with a real laugh. Damn, I can't remember the last time I really laughed. "I gotta go."

"Try to call more often. I'm not the only one worried about you."

"I know. Bye," I said sadly and then closed my phone.

_

* * *

_

September 10th 2:58 P.M.

"This is not keeping good contact, Steph," Ram hissed at me when he answered his cell.

"I've been busy."

"What? The world of gun running can't take a time out for you to call home and check in? Does Ramos have you chained up in the cellar? Is there a goon holding a gun to your head twenty-four hours a day?" he shouted.

"Calm down, Dad," I laughed.

"This isn't funny, Stephanie," Ram said flatly. "Why haven't you called Ranger?"

"I'm just procrastinating on that call. Is he really pissed?"

"The longer you wait the more pissed he gets. It's not exactly a secret that you call me."

"I don't know what to say to him."

"Then try calling one of the other guys."

"I'll try. I've gotta go. I have a budget meeting," I said with an eye roll and a sigh.

"Nice," Ram chuckled. "I didn't know that the mafia held budget meetings."

"I'll try to call more often," I said, ignoring his last comment.

"I wouldn't be all that pissed if you were at least calling the other guys."

"I'll try," I said with exasperation. "Bye, Handsome."

"Later, Hot stuff."

_

* * *

_

September 23rd 9:48 A.M.

"Hey, Love Muffin," I said with a smile into my phone.

"Sugar Pie?"

"That'd be me."

"Holy Hell!" He whispered. The he did a one-eighty and shouted, "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I'm at work right now."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" he shouted.

"Calm down, Hal. Take a deep breath and sit down."

"You want me to calm down? You took off and haven't called."

"That's not true. I've called Ram. He knew where I was going and what I was doing," I reassured.

"Well, that's not good enough. I may be your fake husband, but I'm still your husband and you ran out on me," he said flatly. I could hear a smile peaking through. "I'm filling for fake divorce. Expect to hear from my fake lawyer in a week to ten days."

"Please don't divorce me, Love Muffin. I'll do anything," I said in fake horror.

"Come home."

"I can't. Not yet. Can you tell Ram that you heard from me?"

"Yeah," he said on a sigh. "Anything else?"

"How's Bobby?"

"Not good, Kiddo."

"That's one more call to put on my list of people I don't want to talk to."

"He misses you. Did you know that he won't let anyone in your room?"

"I didn't know that," I said as I sadly shook my head. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I had spent a lot of lonely nights thinking about Bobby. "I miss him, too."

"How are you doing?" Hal asked after I fell silent.

"I'm actually doing okay."

"Good. Do you need anything?"

"No. I'm good. I've got a meeting that I have to get to. I'll keep in touch."

"You better. If you don't… I will find you," Hal threatened with a laugh.

"You already know where I am," I laughed. "Bye, Hal."

"Bye, Sugar Pie."

_

* * *

_

October 7th 1:13 P.M.

Ranger's voice mail.

"Yo. I'm just calling to let you know that I'm okay. I'm sure that you already know that I'm in Deal working for Alexander Ramos. He owns a men's clothing store that I'm helping turn around. The place was a mess when I got here. Things are slowly turning around. I think that I might actually be happy. I'll try to catch you later. Bye."

_

* * *

_

October 7th 1:17 P.M.

"Tank."

"Yo," I said with a smile.

"Bomber! How the hell are you?"

"I'm doing pretty great. How are you?"

"I'd be better if Ranger wasn't 'in the wind'."

"How long has he been gone for?" I asked as I checked my e-mail.

"About three weeks."

"Bad business?"

"Is there any other kind?"

"Not really," I laughed. "I'm just calling to check in."

"And you're calling me?"

"Ram suggested that I start calling some of the other guys."

"That's a good idea. None of us were all that impressed with the way that you left," Tank said flatly.

"It was hard enough leaving with Ram standing there. It would have been even harder leaving with the rest of you guys there," I said quietly.

"I know, Bomber."

"I've got a meeting in a few minutes. I just wanted to check in. Can you tell Ram that I called you?"

"Sure thing, Steph."

"Later," I said to dead air.

_

* * *

_

October 20th 7:45 A.M.

"Ram."

"Hey, Handsome," I sang into the phone.

"I was beginning to think that you forgot about me."

"Never," I laughed.

"You hanging in okay?"

"Of course," I said with a smile. I've found myself smiling more lately.

"You haven't called Bobby yet."

"No. I haven't."

"He's getting worse," Ram said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I leaned forward and started rubbing my forehead.

"He's depressed. He almost got himself killed two days ago during an apprehension."

"Why didn't you call me?" I said as I stood up and started pacing my office.

"He didn't get hurt."

"Ram. Why didn't you call me?" I asked again as I stopped in front of the window that looked out into the store.

"How's work?" Ram asked avoiding my question.

"It's going great," I said after I decided to let the issue drop. "I really like it here."

"You aren't thinking about staying, are you?" Ram asked nervously.

"Not in a million years," I said with a laugh as I started gathering up reports to take to Alexander. "Trenton is my home."

"When are you coming home?"

"Soon. I gotta go. I'll keep in touch."

"Fine. Call Cal. He's pissed that you haven't called him yet."

"Okay," I said with a laugh and closed my phone.

_

* * *

_

Noveber 5th 3:27 P.M.

"Cal."

"Remember, remember the fifth of November," I recited in my sad attempt at an English accent.

"The gun powder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot," he recited back with a laugh in his own sad English accent.

"What's Shaken?" I asked.

"God, it's great to hear your voice."

"Miss me?"

"More then anything," he said on a sigh.

"Things have been that boring?" I asked on a laugh as I walked up the steps to the Ramos mansion.

"You have no clue. When are you coming back?"

"Everyone keeps asking and I still don't know," I said as I nodded at the man that answered the door with a riffle in his hand.

"You doing okay?"

"I doing great," I said as I made my way down the hall towards Alexander's home office. "I'm on my way into a meeting. I just wanted to touch base. Can you let Ram know that you talked to me?"

"Sure. Anything that you need to pass on?"

"Tell Love Muffin that I haven't received my divorce papers yet," I said with a laugh as I walked into Alexander's office.

"I told him that fake lawyer was a dunce," Cal said with a laugh.

"I'll talk to you later."

"Later, Evey."

"Later, V."

_

* * *

_

November 22nd 2:15 P.M. Thanksgiving Day

"Santos."

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" I asked quietly.

"Of course," he said with a chuckle.

"How's it hanging?"

"A little to the left. You?"

"Straight," I laughed. "Are you on duty?"

"Yep. It's me and Woody in the control room. Brown and Brett are out on the street."

"Sounds kind of lonely," I said sadly. I really missed the guys.

"It ain't to bad. I've got Woody and Ella said that she'd bring us some dinner."

"Damn! I miss her cooking," I laughed.

"She misses your eating," he laughed. "I miss the moaning."

"I wasn't that bad," I said as I felt my cheeks start to burn.

"Where are you?"

"I'm out on a balcony watching the waves beat against the beach."

"Alexander sure does have a great place, huh?" he said on a sigh.

"Yeah, he does," I agreed as I turned and looked at the mansion that sat on the beach.

"You okay?" Lester asked after I fell silent.

"Yeah. I just wanted to hear a friendly voice," I said sadly. "I kind of miss you guys."

"You know where we are," he said gently. "Or did you forget your way home?"

"I could never forget my way home," I said. I saw Alexander peek his head out the door and smile over at me. I smiled back and held up my hand asking him to wait a moment. "I have to go. Alexander is waiting for me. Can you tell Ram that we spoke?"

"Sure thing, Bomber."

"I'll catch you later, Les."

"Call me any time, Steph."

"I will," I said quietly and then closed my phone.

_

* * *

_

December 3rd 10:45 A.M.

"Ram."

"Miss me yet?" I asked playfully.

"Every second of every day," he said quietly.

"I haven't been gone that long, Ram," I said with an over exaggerated sigh.

"It seems like years. It's like time stands still around here."

"You guys need to come up with a form of entertainment other then my misadventures," I joked.

"It's more then your misadventures that we miss," Ram said sadly.

"I know, Buddy. I'll be home soon."

"When?" Ram asked with a sudden boost of happiness.

"I'm not sure," I said calmly. I already knew when and I had already talked to Alexander about it. "I'll let you know."

"I guess that's better then saying that you're never coming back."

"My home is in Trenton. You know that," I said lightly, trying to reassure him. "I've got another damn meeting. I'll call you later."

"Try calling Bobby."

"I'll try," I laughed and then closed my phone. I was getting really good at not saying good bye on the phone.

_

* * *

_

December 25th 9:00 A.M. Christmas Day

"Brown."

"Hey, Bobby," I said with a smile on my face.

"Bomber?"

"Yeah, Honey."

He was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "How are you?"

"I'm doing really great," I said as I climbed out of my Bronco. "How are you?"

"I guess I'm okay. What are you doing?"

"Not a whole lot right now. Are you working?" I asked as I leaned against the front for my vehicle.

"Yeah. Ella just called us back to the office for breakfast, so Lester and I are headed back right now."

"I'm jealous," I said as I looked up and down the street. "I miss her waffles."

"She does make great waffles," Bobby agreed. I could hear the smile in his voice. God how I have missed his voice. "You know that she would make them for you if you came back."

"Yeah," I said quietly as I eyed the approaching Bronco. I moved into view of the Bronco and smiled. "Do you think that she might do that this morning?"

I could see Bobby's face light up when he saw me standing in the street in front of the RangeMan office. He jumped out of the Bronco before Lester got it completely stopped at the gate to the garage. I watched as he sprinted over to me and threw his arms around me. I screamed as he lifted me off the ground and whirled me around. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck.

"God. I've missed you," he whispered in my hair.

"I've missed you, too, Bobby," I whispered as I felt a happy tear fall down my face. "More then anyone else."

"Are you gonna let her go?" Lester asked as he walked over. "Or, do I need to get the jaws of life?"

I felt Bobby's arms tighten around me and didn't need to guess that he wasn't about to let go of me. I pressed a button on my keys to pop that back door on my Bronco. "Why don't you make yourself useful and grab the blue bags out of the back?"

"Do I look like a pack mule?" Lester laughed as he opened the back door. He was silent for a moment before he leaned around the side and smiled at me. He had to reach over my duffle bags to get to the blue bags that I asked him to grab. "What about the duffle bags?"

"Duffle bags?" Bobby whispered in my hair.

"I'm home, Bobby," I whispered with a smile as I winked at Lester over Bobby's shoulder. "I'm home."


	2. The In Between

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews. Of course, I'd also be nowhere with out Linda. Kisses, Babe.

* * *

Thirty minutes, and a lot of convincing Bobby to let go, later I found myself in the control room with Bobby, Lester, Woody, Tank, Hal, Cal, Brett, and Vince. Once I was finally able to move without someone grabbing me for a hug, I started searching through the bags that we had hauled out of my Bronco. 

"What do you have there, Steph?" Vince asked as he eyed the bags.

"What does it look like, Vince," I said with an eye roll as I searched through the bags. I found a box with his name on it and tossed it to him. He gave me a funny look and I laughed as I said, "It's a Christmas present. Open it!"

I have never seen his face light up so fast in my life. He was like a five year old seeing the presents under the tree Christmas morning. He dropped down on the floor, please keep in mind that he's a thirty-two year old man with muscles on top of muscles and he's sitting Indian style on the floor, and ripped the wrapping paper off in five seconds flat. He slowly opened the clothes box and pulled out the navy blue sweater that was carefully folded up inside. He held the sweater all the way up and a black velvet box dropped out. He looked from the small box to me. I winked at him as I handed out the rest of the boxes to the guys that were already there.

"Are you going to open it?" I asked Vince as I squatted down next to him once I got the rest of the guys occupied with opening their own.

He was just staring down at the box that he held gently in his hands. He looked at me and gave me a small frown. He leaned over and whispered, "I don't have anything for you."

"It's okay," I whispered as I leaned into him. "You didn't know that I was coming. No one did."

"How'd you do it, Steph? It's the perfect size." Lester asked from a few feet away. He had pulled the green, silk shirt out of the box and put it on after he tore off his RangeMan shirt. It was a perfect fit and a wonderful match to his eyes. Damn, I'm good. He looked over and smiled at me when he saw that he had a little black box as well.

"A good shopper never divulges her secrets," I said with a devilish smile. I wasn't about to tell them that I had called Ella for all of their clothing sizes.

"Kick Ass!" Tank shouted once he opened his little black box. He turned and looked down at me. I think that he liked my thoughtful presents.

"Everyone's is different," I said as I stood up. "It's a little something from me that I designed with each of you guys in mind."

"This is so great, Steph," Lester said as he opened his box. "Alexander must pay well."

"You have no clue," I said as I knelt down behind him and looked inside the box from over his shoulder. I had specialty key chains made for all of them. Each one had a platinum square hanging off of the loop. The square had their name on one side and a picture, or phase, on the other. For instance, Tank's had _Tank _written on one side with a picture of a Tank on the other. There was a woman's silhouette aiming a gun on the back of Lester's.

"Ah, shit," Hal said as he palmed his key chain.

"What?" Cal asked as he looked down at Hal's hand.

"It says _Love Muffin_ on one side and there's a picture of a stun gun on the other."

The control room was completely silent for a moment as every one thought about what Hal had just said. Then, all hell broke loose as every one started laughing their butts off. I just smiled at a very unimpressed Hal as he scowled down at the key chain.

I was in the process of getting hugs and kisses from the guys when I felt a familiar tingle on the back of my neck. I turned towards the door and saw Ranger leaning against the doorframe. He gave me a half smile as I snuck away from the guys and walked over to him. I grabbed a box out of one of the bags and handed it to him with a genuine smile.

"Lookin' good, Babe," Ranger said as he smiled down at me.

"Feelin' good, Babe," I said with a laugh.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to one of the nearest cubicles. I pushed him down in the chair and pointed at the box that he was now holding. He smiled when he read the card because I addressed it to _Carlos._ He quickly tore off the package, but froze before he opened it.

"What?" I asked warily. I sighed and said, "There isn't a bomb in it."

"Babe," he said with a chuckle. He reached into the pocket of his cargos and pulled out a small box. He gave me a 200 watt smile as he handed it to me.

"Ella ratted me out, didn't she?" I asked with a laugh as I took the offered box.

"No," Ranger said as he turned his attention back to the box in his lap. "I knew you were coming."

"How?" I asked as I took the ribbon off the box in my hand.

"Just a feeling," Ranger said with an almost imperceptible shrug.

I watched as a smile slowly grew across his lips when he pulled out the black cashmere sweater. He quickly caught the small box before it hit the floor. He shot me a questioning look as he opened the box. I just smiled and nodded. He looked down and was quiet for a moment. I watched as his shoulders started to shake with silent laughter as he turned it over. I felt the absolute joy of giving him a Christmas present when he tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter. He literally jumped out of the chair and threw his arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. I had them put a Batman symbol on the back of his key chain.

"This is the greatest gift that I've ever gotten," he whispered in my ear once he got himself under control. "Thanks, Babe."

"You're welcome," I whispered back.

"Now open yours," he said as he released me and stood back.

I looked down at the box that I still held in my hand. I took a deep breath and flipped the lid open. Thank God I took a deep breath, because I instantly froze. Lying on top of the black satin was the most beautiful necklace that I have ever seen. The silver chain was about fourteen inches long and braided. Hanging in the middle of the chain were four letters that were encrusted with tiny diamonds and sapphires. _Babe_.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek as Ranger took the necklace out of the box and put it around my neck. I placed my fingers over the letters and smiled up at him. I kissed him softly on the cheek as I pulled him into a hug.

"You're my best friend, Babe," he said quietly. "I wanted to get you something special for Christmas that showed just how important you are to me."

I was speechless. Me! Ranger was never all that great with sharing his feelings and he had just opened up a little. I tightened my arms around him and breathed him in. "You're my best friend, too."

"Breakfast!" Ella shouted from the break room.

I was caught off guard by the stampede of Merry Men that ran out of the control room. I couldn't keep in the laugh that was causing my shoulders to shake. I felt Ranger shake in my arms. I pulled back and smiled up at him and he started chuckling. I had had a sudden flash of Ella's waffles drift through my mind and I guess it was written all over my face.

"Ella's going to be so happy that you are back, Babe," Ranger said as he continued to chuckle while he steered me towards the break room. "She's missed you."

"I've missed her, too," I said as I wrapped an arm around his waist.

It felt so good to be home. I had missed all of these guys. They were such a big part of my life and I had been so lonely over the last few months. I got the feeling, when I talked to them over the last few months, that I was just as much a part of their life as they were in mine.

Five minutes later, I was seated at one of the tables with a plate of waffles drenched in syrup between Ranger and Bobby. Neither one of them was willing to let me out of their sight. I'm guessing that they were afraid that I was going to disappear. I was just about to take my first bite when my cell phone rang. I pulled it out and rolled my eyes when I read who it was.

"I'll be right back," I said quietly to Bobby as I got up.

I patted his shoulder when he gave me a questioning look. I opened my phone as I walked out into the cubicle area. "Yes, Alexander."

"I just wanted to make sure that you had a warm welcome home," he said softly.

"You just miss me already, don't you?" I said with a laugh. "I've only been gone for three hours."

"Please, tell me that they hate you and you're coming back," he joked.

"Fat chance, Old Man," I joked back.

Alexander had turned into a surrogate father to me over the last few months. To say that I was shocked when I got the e-mail from him in the first place was an understatement. We hadn't really associated with each other very much. But, evidently I had made a lasting impression. I guess at some point, during one of our little trips out together when Ranger had asked me to swing by the Ramos mansion, I had mentioned that I had previously been a lingerie buyer. I loved Alexander and it hurt that I had to leave him. His family wasn't all that great to him and he was a little lonely.

"You will come to visit?" he asked after I fell silent.

"Of course," I said as I looked through the door of the break room and smiled at Bobby. He was watching me like a hawk. "I still have to come back tomorrow and get the rest of my clothes."

"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," I said sadly as I closed my phone.

I walked over to the windows that looked out onto Haywood and gazed down at the traffic. I felt the first sad tear roll down my cheek. I hadn't cried over something sad in quite a while. I was so deep into my thoughts about Alexander, that I didn't notice that Bobby was behind me. I was startled when I had tilted my head back to look at the ceiling to clear my head and I hit the brick wall that he calls a chest. He caught my waist when I teetered as I whirled around.

"You okay?" he asked when he saw the tears that were still falling.

"I shouldn't have left him today," I said quietly as I stared down at my feet.

"Who?" Bobby asked.

"Alexander," I said as I looked up at him. "He's all alone on Christmas. I should have waited."

"Then, let's go," Bobby said with a smile as he took my hands in his.

"You're working."

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "Les and I were just getting off."

"You'd go with me to Alexander's?"

"If that's where you think that you should be," he said with a small smile as he started pulling me towards the elevators. "We can go wherever you want to go."

"Wait," I said as I stopped. "I have to tell the guys that I'll be back."

"Hurry up. I'll meet you downstairs," Bobby said as he released me hands and turned towards the stairs.

I ran back to the break room and told the guys that we were taking off. I dropped a kiss on Ranger's cheek and whispered another thanks for the necklace. I stopped by the control room and grabbed the remaining presents. As quickly as I could, I ran around the office and placed the gifts in the appropriate cubicle. I was just about to run to the elevator when I was caught by a pair of arms from behind and pinned against a chest.

"Will you meet me for lunch tomorrow?" Cal whispered in my ear.

"When and where?" I asked as I turned around in his arms to look up at him.

His expression was soft and kind. He was smiling down at me and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he had missed me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a light squeeze.

"Shorty's at noon?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Where are you running off to?" Cal asked as his brows furrowed.

"Bobby's running with me back over to Alexander's. I still have a lot of stuff over there and I felt really bad about leaving him alone on Christmas," I said, the last part sadly.

"Be careful," Cal warned.

"Please," I said with an eye roll as I moved out of his arms and started towards the elevator. "I've been living with the man for the last five months. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"I'm just saying…"

"I'll be fine," I said as I backed into the elevator when I heard the doors open. "I'll see you at Shorty's."

I waved at Cal as the doors closed and leaned against the wall as I rode down to the garage. I stepped out of the elevator and into the garage and found Bobby leaning against his motorcycle. I shook my head 'no' and pointed out the gate at my Bronco as I tossed him the keys. I've learned over the years that the Merry Men don't trust me to drive while they are in the car. I've also discovered over the last five months that Alexander's henchmen don't allow unknown vehicles into his compound. There was no way that they would let Bobby's bike through the gates. Even if I was on it.


	3. Alexander's

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: As always, thank you Linda. _

* * *

"So," Bobby said once we got out onto 195. "What have you been doing for the last five months?" 

Here's the thing. According to the IRS, I've been working at Alexander's clothing store as a merchandise buyer. While I have been helping the new manager of the store buy better clothing, that's not all that I've been doing. I hated lying to people, I was never really good at it. I guess a little time with some of the wrong people changed all that for me. It has almost become second nature to me. I felt my stomach turn when I realized that I was about to lie to Bobby.

"Alexander's last wife decided that she wanted to own a clothing store," I said, deciding to give him the same story that I had been using the whole time. "Well, none of Alexander's wives ever stick around for too long and he was stuck with a struggling store after she left. I've spent the last five months turning the store around."

"Is that where all of the gifts came from?" Bobby asked as he maneuvered us through traffic.

"Yeah," I said as I smiled at him. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and the brown sweater that I got for him. The sweater matched his light amber eyes perfectly. I had dreamed about his eyes for the last five months and I was very pleased with myself that my mind hadn't changed the color at all. "You, Lester, and Cal were the easy ones."

"Where on earth did you find neon blue leather pants?" Bobby asked with a chuckle.

"One of our supplier's for the store also supplied a bondage clothing store. No," I warned when I saw his questioning look. He was wondering if that was the type of store Alexander had. "I had seen some of the stuff that he was taking over there and ended up going to the store about a week later. I saw those pants and didn't hesitate to buy them. I knew that they would be perfect for Cal."

"They are," Bobby agreed.

"Now you tell me, who's doing what and with whom?" I asked. I'm still curious and I haven't had my ear to the Burg grape vine lately. I was totally out of the loop.

"Tank and Lula are still together."

"Naturally. I would have heard otherwise on that one," I said. He looked like he was holding something back. "Spill it, Bobby."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Just don't shoot the messenger. Ranger and Jeanne Ellen are together."

Six months ago, those words would probably have killed me. Now, they actually made me happy. Ranger shouldn't be alone. He needed to have someone in his life that made him happy. I looked out the window at the passing scenery as I thought about this new piece of information. I felt the smile start to twitch at the corners of my mouth. I decided to let the smile out as I turned and looked over at Bobby. He had locked himself down into his blank face. My guess was that he thought I was going to flip out. I saw a small flicker of confusion cross his eyes when he saw my smile before he shut himself down further.

"Ranger and Jeanne Ellen is a good thing, Bobby," I said as my smile got bigger. "If she makes him happy, then I'm happy. I'm just going to have to make it clear to her that if she hurts him, I'll be at her door step with a Glock."

"You're seriously okay with this?" Bobby asked. He actually looked shocked as his blank face slipped away.

"Of course I am," I said with a shrug as I turned back to look out the window. "Why wouldn't I be? We were never really together to begin with. I am a little irked that he didn't say anything to me about it. But, that's just the way that Ranger…" My voice trailed off as something clicked into my head. The necklace. My face lit up as I chuckled when I turned back towards Bobby. "Little rat didn't tell me because of the necklace. He knew I wouldn't take it if I found out about Jeanne Ellen. I'll bet there's a GPS unit in it."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Bobby said with a nod.

I slipped the necklace off and examined it closely. Sure enough. There was a slight flaw on the back where you could see a seam. The jeweler had made it in two pieces and placed the GPS unit inside. Very crafty for Ranger. Also extremely stupid. He should have known that I wouldn't always wear something so expensive every day. I placed the necklace back in its box that I had kept in my purse.

"I would have taken a tracking unit if he would have simply asked," I said, now slightly annoyed.

"Ranger has never been all that great about asking people to do things," Bobby reminded me. "He either makes a demand, or he turns deceptive and tricks people."

"I'll just get one of the guys to give me a lipstick tracker when we get back."

"I could just low jack your body," Bobby said, with a small chuckle he added, "it may be a little more convenient for you."

"Something to consider," I said as I mulled it over. I was actually considering it until one small thought entered into my head. "What if I want to go off line?"

"That wouldn't be possible if I low jack you."

"Then it's out of the question," I said with a frown.

"Why?" Bobby asked.

"I need to be able to get away. I don't want all of RangeMan watching me every second of the day," I said firmly.

I guess the flat, firm tone threw Bobby off for a moment. I had learned to assert myself over the last few months. I no longer did things that I didn't want to do. It was one of the few things that Alexander helped me with at night. Bobby quieted down for a while and we both sunk into our own thoughts. I may be back home, but I still had business with Alexander. Business that the guys might not want to know about, things that I couldn't tell them about. My association with Alexander had changed me from the somewhat naive 'Burg Girl' to… I don't even know how to really put it. I guess I really just grew up.

I jumped out of the passenger side of the Bronco when we pulled up to the gate to Alexander's house. I rounded the front of the Bronco and stepped in front of the small podium that sat off to the side. I would usually use a remote to open the gates, but I had left that here this morning. I typed in my password and scanned my thumb. Wala! The gates opened and I waved Bobby in. I was opening the door for Bobby when I heard the familiar voice.

"Skylla!"

Bobby gave me a funny look when a cheesy grin formed on my lips as I rolled my eyes. I turned to my right and saw Angelo walking over to me from his post on the grounds. My first impression of Angelo had been that he was the Greek version of a Merry Man. Always in black, although he preferred suits over cargos and t-shirts. He had first reminded me of Bobby since he has the same amber eyes and short brown hair. After spending a few hours with him, I had changed my opinion to him completely. He was dark and brooding with an evil sense of humor. He was quite the opposite of the meaning of his name. He quickly became a close friend and confidant. It had been a long three weeks since I had seen him last due to a 'job' that he had in New York. I couldn't stop myself from running across the grass and throwing myself into his out stretched arms. He whirled me around and kissed me lightly on both of my cheeks.

"I thought that Skylla was a man-eating she-beast," Bobby said from behind me. I noticed a slight edge in his voice. Then he added, "That had six heads."

Angelo tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter as he sat me back down on the ground. He slipped an arm around my shoulders and said to Bobby, "She is, stranger. She is. This little one is a shark in the middle of a school of tuna. Watch your nuts around her."

"I'm honestly not that bad," I said as I punched Angelo in the kidney.

"There," he said with a wince. "See what I mean?"

"Bobby," I said as I smiled over at him. "This is Angelo. He's one of Alexander's henchmen."

"One of," Angelo scoffed as he held out a hand to Bobby. He smiled and said, "I'm the best."

Bobby reluctantly shook Angelo's hand. I had a feeling that this was going to be a short visit. I didn't want Bobby to feel uncomfortable and that's just how he was feeling at the moment. I moved out of Angelo's arms and laced my fingers with Bobby's as I pulled him up to the house. The doors opened as we reached the top of the stairs and Alexander greeted us.

"Stephanie," he said as a large smile spread across his lips. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"She felt guilty about leaving you on Christmas," Bobby offered as he held out his hand. "I'm Bobby Brown."

"_The_ Bobby Brown?" Alexander said as his face lit up with a big smile when he took Bobby's hand in his. "This is a wonderful surprise."

Bobby shot me a questioning look and I felt my ears start to burn. Leave it to Alexander to imply that he had heard of Bobby in extreme amounts. He had of course. Bobby had been a hot topic quite a few nights while Alexander and I talked. Alexander had helped me find the Stephanie that I thought that I had lost. She had been inside of me the whole time. Just waiting to come out. I firmly believe that she was waiting for Alexander.

"Ares is pissed off again," Alexander said as he ushered us inside.

"What now?" I asked as we walked into the formal living room.

"He's been storming around the house all morning because he can't find Nina," Alexander said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he walked over to the bar that sat in the corner of the room. "I need a drink. Would the two of you like anything?"

I rolled my eyes because Alexander always needs a drink. I sat down on the couch next to Bobby and said, "Just two cokes."

"I'm going to kill someone!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

"That's Ares," I said as I pointed towards the hall. "He's a little angry. It should pass in a minute."

About ten seconds after I spoke, I was hauled off the couch and engulfed in Ares arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ruffled his bleach blonde, spiked hair. He dropped me down on my feet and I noted the that the green contacts had been replaced with blue ones. I smiled up at him and wiped a smug of dirt off his cheek.

"Still haven't found Nina?" I asked.

"No," he said as his frown dissolved into a smile.

I rolled my eyes because only Ares would lose a Beretta M501 Sniper Rifle. I knew exactly where it was. I grabbed Ares hand and looked over at Alexander. "Please try not to kill Bobby while I show Ares where Nina is."

"You over exaggerate, Stephanie," Alexander said with a wave of his hand as he sat in one of the leather wing back chairs after he handed me and Bobby our drinks. "I haven't killed anyone in years."

"Will you survive for a few minutes without me?" I asked as I looked down at Bobby.

"I'll be fine," Bobby said with a reassuring smile. "I'm armed."

I laughed as I pulled Ares down the hall towards my room. I threw the door open and walked over to my walk in closet. I pointed Ares to a chair and started digging through the clothes in the corner of my closet. I pulled out four long cases and sat them down on my bed. The first case was my Yugoslav M-76 rifle. The second case was Angelo's H&K PSG-1. The third case was my Czech 700 M1. I finally found Ares' Beretta in the last case and showed it to him.

"Nice and clean," I said. I pointed to the sight and said, "There was a hair line crack in the inner lens. That's what was throwing you off. It was cheaper just to get you a new sight."

"Thanks, Steph," Ares said as he pulled out the rifle and looked through the sight. He made a few adjustments and then places the gun back into its case. "I forgot that I gave it to you."

"I would have seen it tomorrow when I come back to get the rest of my stuff," I said as I stashed the guns back in the closet. "Can you move these to Alexander's closet after we leave?"

"You aren't taking them with you?" Ares asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You know that I can't do that," I said as I ran my hands through my hair out of frustration. "I hate lying to my friends, but I have a loyalty to Alexander. If I brought these home and someone saw them, it'd open a can of worms that I can't deal with."

"I know that this is a shitty situation, Steph," Ares said as he slipped an arm around my waist and guided me out of my room. We walked across the hall to his room to drop his case off. He sat me down on his bed and said, "You are good at what you do. The life that you chose to except is a lonely life. There are few people who will ever know the true you. You have to make the decision as to who you can trust. If you feel that you can fully trust Bobby, then tell him. But if there is whisper of doubt, keep your mouth shut."

"I know," I said as I shook my head sadly. "At least I have you guys."

"You aren't totally alone, Love," Ares assured me.

I felt a little better as I stood up and followed him back out to the formal living room. Alexander and Bobby were having an intense discussion over some of Alexander's Greek artifacts that were scattered through out the house. I looked over at Ares and rolled my eyes. He chuckled softly and mocked me by rolling his eyes. We stood in the archway and watched as Alexander uncharacteristically surrendered to Bobby.

"Your man likes to argue," Alexander said as he turned towards me.

"He's not mine," I said as I waved my hands defensively.

I saw something quickly flash across Bobby's face. I couldn't put a name to the look because it was banked to quickly. Ares evidently caught the look and nudged me with his elbow. I looked up at him and shrugged 'what?'. He shook his head sadly and chuckled. I still live part time in the land of denial and I wasn't completely ready to classify a relationship that hadn't been completely formed. The intercom broke the heavy silence that had descended upon the room.

"Deacon's here."

"That's my cue to head out," I said as I held my hand out towards Bobby. He slowly stood up and walked over to my side. "Sorry for the short visit, Alexander."

"You need to fix your relationship with Deacon," Alexander commented as he stood.

"There's nothing to fix," I hissed as I laced my fingers with Bobby's and headed towards the door. "He crossed too many lines, Alexander."

"He was doing a job," Ares said quietly behind me.

"You weren't there!" I shouted as I whirled around to glare at him.

"Not now!" Alexander barked.

I fell silent as I continued to glare at Ares. Deacon and I were the only ones that were there the night that all hell had broken lose. Most people chose to take Deacon's side and believe the lies that he told. I knew the truth and Alexander was the only one that believed what I told him.

I heard the door slowly open behind me and I turned to look at Deacon. To any normal red blooded woman, Deacon was a god among men. His disheveled, sandy blonde hair and lazy hazel eyes always gave him the look of being mysteriously sexy. He stood just over six feet talk and his body was ripped in all the right places to make even a nun drool. To me, he was pond scum. I hated breathing the same air as him. How Alexander could keep him around was beyond me.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said when I turned back to Alexander. I silently pulled Bobby out of the house and out to the Bronco without looking back.


	4. Double Damn

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters. Small refferance to _Moulin Rouge_.

_A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying this story. A specail thanks goes to the wonderful Mrs. Linda. I love you, Babe! Just as an F.Y.I... I won't start my TPD series, a spin off of He's Got What I Want, until after I finish this story. I think that I do better when I focus on one project at a time. But, I will get to it. -Kate_

* * *

"Please don't ask me what that was about," I said, finally breaking the silence once we were back out on 195 headed back towards Trenton. 

"You should know by now that you only have to tell me what you feel comfortable sharing," Bobby said quietly from behind the wheel.

"It's the whole Family thing," I said as I stared out the window. "I'm really sorry that you were put in that situation."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just slightly annoyed," I mumbled.

We fell back into silence for the rest of the trip. I wanted desperately to tell Bobby about the last five months. I knew that the last minute that we were at Alexander's would leave enough room in his mind to doubt my story on working at a clothing store. I knew that sooner or later I was going to either have to tell him, or I was going to have to go back to Deal and never return. My chest tightened on that last thought. I loved my life in Trenton. All of my friends and family were there. Everything was there. Bobby was there.

How do you tell someone that you love that you've turned into someone that they will more then likely hate? It was the one thing that had kept me away for so long. It was the one thing that I was afraid of. I was afraid that Bobby would turn his back on me once he found out my secret. Now that I was back, I found that it was going to be even more difficult then I thought.

"Your room is still open back at me and Binkie's apartment," Bobby said.

The sound of his voice had startled me out of my thoughts. I hadn't even noticed that we had pulled into the RangeMan garage. I had zoned everything else out except the thoughts that had drifted through my mind. I looked over at Bobby and realized that he was waiting for a response.

"I was hoping that you hadn't found a new room mate," I said as I smiled over at him.

"Great. I just need to check in and then we can head over," Bobby said, seeming a little more up beat, as he opened his door and jumped out. He walked around the Bronco and shut my door once I go out. He reached out and laced his fingers with mine and asked, "What are your plans now that you are back?"

"Well," I said as we walked over to the elevator. "I know that Lula is doing great for Vinnie. I guess I was hoping to get on full time here. I'll have to talk to Ranger about that."

"We're getting busier all the time," Bobby said once we got on the elevator and started riding up. "I'm sure that Ranger would love for you to come back."

We split up once we got to the fifth floor. Bobby was heading over to the control room and I was going on a Ranger hunt. I found Ranger in his office doing paper work. His door was open so I just silently leaned against the door frame and waited for him to notice me. I had been standing there for about five minutes before I finally decided to knock on the door. He looked up and me and smiled as he leaned back in his chair.

"How's Alexander?" Ranger asked.

"Alexander is fine," I said as I came in and dropped down in one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. "You know that you could have just given me lipstick, right?"

"I thought that the necklace was prettier," he said with a hint of a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

"I'll grab something from the control room when I head back out," I said as I took the necklace out of my purse and dropped it on his desk. "I love the necklace, but it isn't practical. I can't wear something that glittery everyday. Plus, it doesn't feel right to except it."

Ranger nodded and took the necklace back. He slipped it into the top drawer on his desk and then said, "So, are you ready to come back to work?"

"I am," I said with a nod of my own.

"I don't know if anyone told you, but Silvio is back," Ranger said, watching for my reaction over someone else having my job.

"That's great," I said without a hint of the disappointment that I was feeling in my gut. "Do you have anything open that I might be good at?"

"How about sales?" Ranger said, again gauging my reaction.

"Like meeting with possible new accounts?" I asked after I thought about it for a moment.

"Yes."

"I'll give it a shot," I said with a slight shrug.

"Thank God," he said on a whoosh of air. "I've been so freaking busy lately, that I've had to turn away business because we can't get out to them to do a meet and greet."

"Well, help has arrived," I said with a smile as I stood up. "What time do you want me in tomorrow?"

"Eight would be great."

"Sure. Just so you know, I do have to go back out to Alexander's sometime tomorrow to get the rest of my clothes."

"That's fine. Just come in at eight and once we get you settled in, you can head out and take care of what ever you need to do. There's just one thing that I have to ask," Ranger said as he stood up and rounded the desk. "How tight is your association with Alexander?"

This was the million dollar question that I was hoping to avoid. Just how much could I tell Ranger? I had done some things that fell into the grey area when it came to _his_ moral code. My moral code had changed quite a bit over the last few months. I decided to be vague for the time being.

"I still have unfinished business with Alexander," I said, choosing my words carefully.

"You're going to have to be more specific some day," he said as he slipped an arm around my shoulders and steered me out of the office. "I'll take that for now. Just let me know if you have to go to him. Try to give me as much notice as possible incase I have to cover a meeting."

"I can do that," I said as we walked through the empty cubicles. RangeMan was running a skeleton crew on Christmas Day.

"Get Steph loaded up," Ranger said to Hal once we walked into the control room.

"Already set," Hal said as he handed me a case that was sitting on the floor under the desk.

I grabbed the case and opened it up. There was a RangeMan badge, a Smith and Wesson with rounds, a pair of cuffs, mace, stun gun, a key fob for the garage, and a tube of lipstick. I took the badge, lipstick, the key fob and cuffs then handed the case back to Hal.

"Babe."

I smiled over at Ranger and pulled a Ruger P35 out of my holster that I kept in the back of my pants. None of them had seen it since I was wearing a bulky sweat shirt. I clipped the badge to the bottom of my shirt as I holstered my gun after Ranger shot me a 200-watt smile. That was another thing that I'd probably have to explain later. I shoved the lipstick and cuffs in my pocket as I looked around for Bobby. I caught his eye and nodded towards the elevator as I put the key fob on my key ring.

"He's missed you," Ranger whispered in my ear.

"I've missed him," I whispered back with a large smile. Ranger never missed anything.

I met Bobby by the door and he slipped his hand in mine automatically as we walked out. I leaned into him and rested the side of my head on his shoulder as we rode down in the elevator in comfortable silence. We parted again once we got to the garage. I jumped back into my Bronco and he jumped on his bike. I pulled my phone out as we pulled out of the garage and dialed the control room.

"Control," Hal answered.

"Where's the GSP?" I asked as I wound my way through traffic.

"Just under the bumper on the front driver's side. Why?" he asked. "You thinking about running again?"

"No, Love Muffin," I said with a chuckle. "I just want to be able to disable it if I want to get away for a bit."

"That's understandable. Just make sure that you call the control room when you do it."

"Will do," I said, then closed my phone as I pulled up in front of the apartment building.

I jumped out and popped open the back of the Bronco. I grabbed one of the bags and Bobby grabbed the other two. I hadn't even noticed that we were holding hands until we got into the elevator. Something else that has now become second nature. This one kind of came out of nowhere, though. I was still contemplating how I felt about it when the elevator doors opened and Ram was standing in the hallway by the door to our apartment.

"I've been waiting to see you all day," Ram said as he walked towards us. "I had to hear from Lester that you were back. Why didn't you call me?"

"I'm sorry, Ram," I said as I dropped my bag and released Bobby's hand so that I could hug him. "It's been one of those days."

"I'll forgive you this time," Ram said with a chuckle as he lifted me off the ground as he hugged me. I find that I often feel like a rag doll when I get hugged by a Merry Man.

I think that the whole building heard my stomach growl once Ram sat me down on my feet. As if on cue, Ram's stomach growled. I had a brief memory flash across my mind of the first morning that I had stayed here. I smiled up at Ram as I said, "I think that my stomach missed your stomach."

I watched as confusion was replaced with a large grin as Ram recalled the same memory of lying in my bed. He tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter as my stomach growled again. I saw the platinum square on Bobby's keychain catch the light from the ceiling as he unlocked the door. Bobby caught me looking at the square. He caught my eye and I saw something else there that I hadn't seen since that day that we had watched the movie in his room. The keychain was my way of telling him that I hadn't forgotten that day. One side had his name and the other side said _'Come What May'_. I finally broke eye contact as I allowed Ram to push me through the door once Bobby got it open after he picked up my bag from the floor. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was two in the after noon. Where had my day gone?

Ram and Bobby carted my bags back to my room as I headed into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and peeked inside. I was contemplating what I wanted to eat when I felt Bobby's arms come around my waist. I leaned back into him as he rested his chin on my shoulder to help me inspect the fridge.

"Sandwiches?" I asked.

"Pizza?" Bobby countered.

"Pino's?" I pleaded as I turned around in his arms and smiled up at him. "I haven't had Pino's in five months! Please!"

I looked into his eyes and felt the missing piece in my life click into place. This is where I knew that I belonged. This is where I wanted to be. I slipped my hands up his chest and laced my fingers around his neck as I smiled up at him. I saw a smile slowly spread across his lips before he lowered his head and captured my lips with his. His lips were soft and gentle as they molded to mine. I melted against him as his wonderful tongue slipped past my lips and danced across mine. Ram's voice barely penetrated my lust filled hazy brain as he walked down the hall.

"I thought I heard Pi-" Ram said as he wondered into the kitchen.

Bobby broke the kiss, but only pulled back a hair as his eyes locked with mine. As he spoke his lips brushed against mine lightly. "Five meatball subs and three large pizzas."

"Hungry?" I asked as I smiled against his lips.

"Sure he is," Ram chuckled. "Just not for anything that you can get off of a Pino's menu."

Bobby torn his eyes from mine and he looked over at Ram. I could just barely see the dark look that he shot at Ram. I had never seen Ram run out of a room so quickly in my life. Bobby turned back to look at me once the front door slammed shut. He lowered his lips back down to mine in a slow, smoldering kiss that sent sparks flying through my body to all of the right places.

"I'm very sorry that we can't finish this at the moment," he said when he pulled back. I guess he saw the confusion in my eyes because he quickly added, "A bunch of the guys are on their way over."

"I should have known that my first night back wouldn't be a quiet one," I said with a nod.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the front door crashed open and a sea of black came through the door. I moved my hands back down Bobby's chest and hooked my fingers into his belt loops to keep him from going too far as the guys started milling around the apartment. Bobby wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me away from the fridge when Hector walked in with two cases of Corona.

"Hand her over," Hector said once he got the beer situated in the fridge.

I found myself being passed from Bobby to Hector without me having an opinion. It wasn't until I was a foot off the floor that I realized who had me. It took a minute for the shock to wear off. Hector was one of the few Merry Men who I rarely saw. He mostly worked nights and surveillance. I think that I've probably been in the same room as him maybe a dozen times. It wasn't until about nine months ago that I found out that he speaks English.

I shot a raised eyebrow at Bobby when Hector sat me back down and walked out of the kitchen, beer in hand. Bobby simply shrugged and smiled. I've been working on my ESP skills with Ares and Angelo. I was pleased that I was able to do a little with Bobby. I'm not on the same level as Ranger, but I'm getting there.

"Where's Binkie?" I finally asked as I grabbed a beer and handed one to Bobby.

"He should be here soon," Bobby said after he glanced at his watch. "You want help unpacking?"

"Nah," I said as I backed out of the kitchen. I decided to be bold and said, "I'd rather keep my lingerie a surprise."

I chuckled as I left the kitchen when I saw Bobby's eyes glaze over. I passed Cal on my way to my room and shot him a look. He silently stood up and followed me back to my room. I grabbed my bags and took them into my closet as he shut my bedroom door. Cal is one of the more talkative Merry Men and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he had something that he wanted to say.

"Why don't you lay it on the line and we can skip lunch tomorrow," I said as I started unloading one of the bags.

"You've been busy," Cal said as he walked through my closet and into my bathroom.

"What are you talking about, Cal?" I asked as I turned and looked at him. There's no way that he knows, I said to myself.

"Hamburg, Bucharest, Salzburg, Paris, Athens," Cal said quietly with a blank face.


	5. Everything Changes

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_Thanks again for all of the great reviews and to Linda for rooting me on._

* * *

Six months ago, I would be flat on my back, passed out at the thought of the information that Cal had. But, here I am, looking into the eyes of a friend who was now in danger because of me. Cal had found out my secret and that could turn out to be bad for him. There's a reason why a hit man doesn't announce their profession to the world. I know that my actions have pissed off plenty of people in over a dozen countries. You'd be amazed how many people you can kill in three months for Alexander. Granted, I was the only one doing it so that I could get better at it. Ares and Angelo were my back up while I got the whole thing figured out. 

"How many people have you told?" I asked Cal, as the single thought of damage control entered my brain.

I could tell that my question wasn't the first thing that Cal was expecting. His eyes gave him away. He was pissed. I guess that I really couldn't blame him. After all, he had just gotten confirmation that I killed people for a living. It was the only link to the list of cities that he gave me.

"I haven't told anyone," he finally said.

"You need to keep it that way, Cal," I said as I turned back to putting my clothes away. "It's for your own safety."

"What about your safety, Stephanie?" Cal hissed.

"I'm being cautious," I hissed back. "Don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry about you?" Cal said, raising the level of his voice. I reached out and shut the closet door to try to buffer the sound of our voices. This was going to get loud. "What in the hell happened to our Bomber? What did Ramos do to you?"

"Alexander didn't do anything to me! He helped me!" I shouted after I moved into the bathroom and shut that door. "I fucking grew up, Cal. _I_ took charge of my life. _I _went to the gym and put myself through physical therapy. _I_ went to the gun range and became a better shooter. _I_ sat with Alexander every night and talked out my problems. I'm not the same, broken girl that left here five months ago."

"You're right," Cal shouted back at me. "I don't know who the fuck you are anymore! I want Bomber back!"

"That's just to damn bad, Cal!" I shouted, then I turned to walk out.

"I know about Moscow."

That one statement stopped me in my tracks. I turned to look at the Merry Man that was standing in my bathroom. He was standing in the middle of the room with his hands fisted at his side. Moscow had been a disaster of epic proportions. There were still shock waves being felt even though it had happened four weeks ago.

"Do not ever mention Moscow again, Cal," I said quietly through clenched teeth. "Is that clear?"

"Fine," Cal said with a slight nod. "But, I'd suggest that you tell Bobby what the fuck you're doing before you two get in too deep. It's only fair that he knows."

I opened the door and looked down at my bags that still sat on the floor. Should I even bother unpacking? Cal was right. I had to tell Bobby before we got in too deep. He had a right to know what he was getting into. But, I was still faced with the problem of how I was suppose to tell him. I couldn't do it right now with an apartment full of people. If it went down badly, then there would probably be a lot of shouting and then everyone would know if they hadn't just heard me and Cal shouting at each other.

"How did you figure it out?" I asked quietly, as I looked back at him.

"I was talking to one of my contacts in Hamburg. He said that a mob guy got hit. A couple of days later, I was talking to a contact in Paris and he mentioned a hit on a mob guy out there. I let my fingers wonder around and found Skylla Manoso on flight manifests around the times of the killings," Cal said as a sheepish grin crossed his face. I couldn't blame him for being proud of himself. He wasn't really known for his computer skills. "I started looking for other hits and linked them all to that name. I started searching the DMV data base and found a license issued to a Skylla Manoso in New Hampshire. Your picture was attached to the license."

"I'll tell him tonight after everyone leaves," I said after I was silent for a moment, then I turned away from my bags and walked out of my closet.

I walked out of my room, leaving Cal in my bathroom, and walked down the hall towards the living room. I found Bobby still standing in the kitchen, talking to Hal and Brett. He smiled at me when I walked in and held out a hand to me. I walked over and took his hand in mine, thankful that he was showing no signs that he had heard us. He pulled me close as he continued to speak and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned my head against his chest and soaked up the feelings that he brought out in me.

"Where is she?" a familiar voice shouted from the front door twenty minutes later.

"In the kitchen," Bobby shouted as he loosened his grin on me, preparing to hand me off.

I reluctantly lifted my head from his chest so that I could roll my eyes at him. I knew that Binkie would freak as soon as he saw me. Bobby had mentioned that Binkie had been heart broken when I left without a word. I turned when he walked into the kitchen. He looked so happy to see me. I released Bobby and ran to Binkie. I jumped and landed in his out stretched arms. He encased me with his brick hard arms and buried his face in my hair just like Bobby had. Who knew that I would have missed him so much?

"It took Ram, Bobby, Tank, and Ranger to keep me from hunting you down and killing you," Binkie finally whispered in my ear. "I wanted to kill you for leaving that way. You never said good bye."

"Of course I said good bye," I whispered back. "You just weren't awake when I dropped a kiss on your forehead."

"I thought that you were a dream," he whispered as his arms tightened around me. "I saw you walk out the door with your bag."

"I couldn't have left without seeing you one more time."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked as he finally sat me back down on my feet.

"It was hard enough walking out with Ram standing there," I said as I looked from Binkie to Bobby. "I wouldn't have been able to leave with both of you _and_ Ram standing there."

Bobby gave me a small nod and held his hand out to me again. I reached out and let him pull me back to him when our hands locked together. I was suddenly aware of the loud noises that had been coming from the living room this whole time. The guys were using Binkie's Wii. They had a game in that had them running and jumping. I thought about the people living down stairs as I looked up at Bobby.

"Silvio and two other guys from the Miami office are living down stairs. They all transferred down together. I'm pretty sure that Silvio is the only one home right now," Bobby said after he saw my look.

Ram came barreling in moments later with his arms loaded down with food. Bobby was able to snatch two subs before the rest of the guys descended on the food. We stood in the kitchen together and ate while we chatted about the coming week.

"What did Ranger say?" Bobby asked.

"I'm going to try my hand at sales," I said with a little chuckle. "Silvio took my job and Ranger seems to think that sales would be a good place for me."

"They'll probably have you run out with Trip for a week or two before they let you out on your own," Bobby said with a nod.

"Who's Trip?" I asked with a frown.

"I guy from Miami," Bobby said around a mouth full of food. "Ex-special forces. Nice guy. Kind of quiet though."

"You still work out every morning?" I asked veering off subject.

"Does a bear shit in the wood?" Bobby said. The look on his face was that of absolute horror that I would suggest that he hadn't been in a gym everyday for the last fifteen years.

"Do you use the gym down stairs, or the one at RangeMan?" I asked after taking a long pull off of a fresh beer.

"RangeMan," he said slowly. He was trying to figure out where I was going with this.

"What time do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Eight."

"So, you probably get up at five?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," I said with a nod.

"You wanna clue me in, because I'm a little confused," Bobby said once I stopped asking questions.

"Just figured that since it's suppose to snow tonight, that you might want a ride in to the office in the morning," I said after I finished off my beer.

As I looked down at my empty beer bottle, I realized that I was already starting to prepare myself for telling Bobby everything. I tossed the beer and grabbed a soda. I'd be better off sober incase I got my ass kicked out of here tonight. I looked back over at Bobby and he looked like he was confused. He kept opening his mouth to say something and then he'd shut it after he'd change his mind.

"What?" I asked after about the fifth time.

"You don't have to get up that early just to give me a ride in," Bobby finally said.

"I'm not," I said with a shrug. "I hate working out alone. I use to wake Ares up all the time just so that I had someone to talk to."

"Really?" Bobby asked as he swiped my soda and took a drink.

"I got into working out when I started physical therapy for my shoulder."

"Let me take a look," Bobby said as he turned me around. He put my shoulder through the basic routine while he kept running his fingers over my shoulder. "Any tenderness?"

"Nope," I said as I shook my head. "I get a little stiff when the weather changes. But, I just pop some Aleve for that."

"Feels pretty good," He said as he lowered my arm and started massaging my shoulder.

I lowered my head as his hands worked their way over to my neck. He moved closer and I felt him brush up against my back. I leaned back a little as I moan escaped my lips. His hands felt so wonderful. I could have melted into putty in his hands.

"You're tense," Bobby said quietly. "Is everything okay?"

"It's nothing that can't wait until later," I said just as quietly.

"That doesn't sound too good, Steph," Bobby said as his hands stilled.

"Don't worry about it right now," I said as I turned around and smiled up at him. I didn't want him to push the issue right now. "We'll talk about it later on. Okay?"

"Sure," he finally said after he searched my eye for a moment. "We can wait if you want to."

"Are you going to quit hogging her?" Hal shouted from the living room. "We want to see her, too."

We moved out into the living room with the rest of the guys. Everyone was spread out watching Lester and Vince fight each other on TV. Bobby sat down on the floor in front of the couch and pulled me down in his lap. We sat there, shouting at the TV as everybody played games. I got up a few times to try to play, but I'm still a girl and I sucked at it.

The rest of the afternoon and evening flew by and before I knew it, everyone was taking off. Lester and Ram walked across the hall to their apartment. Hal and Cal walked down the hall to their apartment. Binkie ended up volunteering to take Vince, Brett, and Hector back over to the office to get their vehicles. That left Bobby and I alone in the apartment. I nodded at Bobby and headed down the hall towards my room. He walked in after me and I pointed him over to the couch that sat under the window.

He sat down and got comfortable. He knew that this was what had been on my mind all night and he wasn't going to push me until I was ready. I took a deep breath as I sat down on the edge of my bed. This was going to change everything.

"I just need you to promise that no matter what I say, you can't tell anyone," I said as I finally looked into his eyes. "I need you to make that promise and keep it no matter what."

"I promise that whatever you tell me, I will take it to the grave," Bobby said as he stared back into my eyes. "What's wrong?"

I just didn't know how to tell him. I had been wracking my brains all night trying to figure out the words to tell him what I had been doing. I felt so lost. I hadn't felt this way since I left five months ago. The feeling actually scared me. I was so use to being in control and knowing what to do next. I finally took a deep breath and blew it out through my mouth.

"I'm just going to spit it out," I said quietly. "I've been a hit man for Alexander for the last three months."


	6. Spiling The Beans

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

* * *

Ranger and his band of Merry Men have this thing where if they hear something that is bad, their face becomes completely devoid of any emotion. I refer to this has their 'blank face'. I struggled for years to do this myself and it wasn't until about two months ago that I was finally able to achieve this one goal with the help of Angelo. As soon as I said the words 'hit man', I threw on my blank face and waited for the outcome.

I really wasn't all that surprised when Bobby's blank face slammed down into place once my words settled into his brain. I was expecting this. What I really wasn't expecting was for him to stand up and walk out of my room. I watched him disappear into the hall and I heard his bedroom door slam shut. That's when the first tear popped out of my eye and slid down my cheek. I was really glad that I hadn't completely unpacked.

I jumped when I heard several loud crashes coming from Bobby's room. They came quickly. One right after the other. I know that one of the crashes had to have been his TV. It sounded like he had ripped it off the wall and then jumped on it several times. Then it sounded like he was hitting or kicking a wall. I sat frozen on my bed. I honestly didn't know what to do as a few more tears slid down my cheeks. Should I go in and try to calm him down? Do I grab my bags and try to sneak out? Do I call one of the guys?

Bobby's door flew open before I was able to come up with an answer. He stalked back into my room and stood between me and the door. Looks like I can't make a run for it. Time to face the music, Stephanie, I thought to myself. Bobby's blank face was gone and I braced myself for the explosion that was inevitable. He was beyond pissed at the moment. Not that I really expected anything less from Bobby.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Bobby shouted.

"No," I said quietly.

"What in the hell were you thinking when you decided to become a fucking hit man for Alexander?" Bobby shouted as he took a step towards me.

"It wasn't like I woke up one morning and said 'Can I be a hit man for you, Alexander?'. I was trying to improve myself while I was away," I explained. "I didn't want to come back here and still have to rely on you guys and Ranger every time I got in too deep. I started working out and Ares took me out to the gun range to work on my shooting. I got really good and he told Alexander. It just sort of happened. One minute I was in Deal, the next minute I was on top of a building with Ares in Athens."

"And… What? You just run around shooting people?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"No. That first guy was trouble, Bobby. You can't just run around and sell guns to just anyone," I reasoned. "They might be the mob, but they still have a moral code. Granted, there is a lot of grey area, but it's still a code. The first guy I killed was selling guns to anyone that could pay for them. Bank robbers, rapists, drug dealers. The guy that I took out deserved what he got and I don't regret it. When I got back to Deal, there was an envelope sitting on my bed."

I moved past Bobby and went to my closet as I spoke. I grabbed one of my duffle bags and brought it over to the bed. I unzipped it and shook everything out. Twenty-seven envelopes fell on the bed along with my H&K P30 and Glock 20, plus some ammo magazines. I grabbed the blue envelope and handed it to Bobby.

"This was the first one," I said as he took it. "Read what it says."

"I love you. Alexander," Bobby said after he looked down at the envelope.

"There's ten grand in there," I said as I pointed at the envelope. I pointed at the rest and said, "I have two hundred and seventy thousand dollars sitting on my bed. I haven't spent a dime of that money."

"Why?" Bobby asked quietly, still looking that the envelope.

"I don't know," I finally said. "It's a number of things. I know that everyone I've killed wasn't just for Alexander, so I don't know where the money came from. I guess I just don't know what to do with it. I never had to pay for anything while I was at Alexander's. Plus, I was getting a regular check for working at the shop."

We both fell into silence for a while. I wanted to know what was next for us, but I didn't want to push Bobby. I slowly started picking up the envelopes and placing them back in the bag. I put both of my guns and the magazines on my dresser and threw the bag under my bed. Bobby walked over to the couch and sat down as he stared at the envelope that he was still holding.

"Are you still working for him?" Bobby asked quietly as he looked up at me.

"If he needs me," I said just as quietly.

"You can't just walk away, can you?" Bobby said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I haven't tried, or asked," I said as I walked over and squatted in front of him. "I've never discussed it with Alexander."

"Does Ranger know?"

"No," I said with a nod. "Cal is the only other one that knows."

"Cal?" Bobby asked. I saw something that resembled jealousy flicker across Bobby's eyes.

"He figured it out on his own," I admitted with a shrug. "He's a lot smarter then any of us give him credit for."

"Did he threaten to tell me if you didn't?" Bobby asked slowly.

"No," I said as I sat down on the floor at his feet with a shake of my head. I looked up at Bobby and said, "I already knew that I had to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because I love you," I said simply. "I didn't want to hide anything from you."

"I love you, too," he said as he reached out and caressed the side of my face. "Since you are telling me these things… Will you tell me about what happened with Deacon?"

I knew that this was coming. Full discloser is exactly that. I had to tell him everything. This was going to be harder then telling him about being a hit man. I was going to need a beer for this. I held up a finger as I stood up. I walked out of my room and down that hall to the kitchen. I grabbed two beers out of the fridge and headed back to my room. Bobby was still on the couch. He had opened the envelope and taken the money out.

"That's a lot of money to sit on, Steph," he said as he took the beer that I held out to him.

"It is," I said as I sat back down on the floor and leaned against my bed. "I was thinking about taking a trip. Maybe buying a house out in Point Pleasant."

"Don't you travel enough?" he asked with a small smile.

"I never get to see anything," I said with a shrug. I took a pull off of my beer and added, "It's always in and out."

He stuffed the money back into the envelope and tossed it over my head and onto the bed. I watched him lean back and drain half of his beer in one gulp. He looked sad and tired. I guess having a temper tantrum takes a lot out of him. I didn't even want to think about what his room looked like.

"So," I finally said. "You really want to know about Deacon?"

"Yeah," Bobby said with a shake of his head.

"Alright," I said on a sigh. "Just remember that you wanted to know."

"Okay."

I was about to open my mouth and tell him about Moscow when I heard the front door open and then close. Binkie was finally back from taking the guys to their cars. I heard him move down the hall and stop in front of Bobby's room. In typical Merry Man fashion, he swept into my room with his gun drawn. I smiled over my shoulder at Binkie and gave him a little finger wave. He holstered his gun and stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Bobby threw a temper tantrum," I explained.

"That's one hell of a temper tantrum," Binkie said.

"You should tell Binkie, too," Bobby said quietly.

"How many people do you want me to tell?" I asked as I swung my eyes back to Bobby's. "You want me to tell all of RangeMan?"

"No," Bobby said as he shook his head. "But, Binkie does live here. He needs to know, too."

I looked back over my shoulder at Binkie. He looked a little confused by me and Bobby's little discussion. I couldn't really blame him. We were being really vague. Bobby also had a very valid point. There was a chance that I could be putting Binkie in danger by living here. I looked back over at Bobby and thought about it for a moment.

"I really hope that I don't have to buy two TVs because of this," I finally said.

"Binkie's a little more relaxed and removed from the situation," Bobby said, trying to reassure me that Binkie wouldn't freak.

"I'm sorry," I said as I gave him an 'are you for real' look. "Were you not in the kitchen when he finally saw me? This is Binkie we're talking about."

"Will someone please tell me what you guys are talking about?" Binkie asked from the door way.

"Steph's a hit man for Ramos," Bobby said bluntly with a large grin plastered across his face.

He looked down at me and I swear that he looked proud. I was absolutely stunned. My mouth dropped open and I just stared at him in disbelief. Bobby reached forward and used the tips of his fingers to shut my mouth as he winked down at me.

"But, you're still going to work at RangeMan, right?" Binkie asked as he walked in and looked down at me.

"That's the plan," I said once the shock had worn off. "Can you, like, not tell anyone?"

"Sure," Binkie said with a shrug and then he left my room.

"Why did he take that better then I was expecting?" I asked after Binkie left.

"He's Binkie," Bobby said with a shrug. "You were going to tell me about Deacon."

"Long story," I said with a sigh. "I'm going to grab us more beer."

"Okay," Bobby said with a nod. "I'm using the can."

"Alrighty," I said as I got up to walk towards the door.

I didn't get the chance to take a single step. I quickly found myself pinned down on the bed with Bobby hovering over me. His eyes had darkened and they were staring intently down at me.

"What?" I whispered.

"Do you really love me?" he whispered back.

"Yes, I really love you," I whispered.

His mouth crashed down on mine and a bolt of electricity shot through my body. I opened my mouth to welcome in his tongue as I ran my hands up his chest to cup his face. I felt every bone in my body start to melt as his tongue slid over mine. It had been awhile since the last time I had sex and I felt myself go wet as his hands fisted in my hair.

"Can you at least shut the door?" Binkie shouted from the living room. "I can hear Steph moaning all the way out here!"

I giggled against Bobby's lips and pushed my head into the mattress to break the kiss. I gasped as Bobby lips trailed down my neck. My head involuntarily tilted to give him better access. I felt my hormones start to rage out of control as I fisted my hands in his hair. A moan escaped my throat when his lips hit the sweet spot just below my ear.

"Bobby!" Binkie shouted. "You're killing me!"

Binkie's voice broke through my haze and I pushed Bobby back. He smiled down at me and kissed me lightly on the lips. I rolled off the bed after Bobby stood up. I ran my fingers through my hair as I made my way down the hall towards the kitchen. I ignored the chuckling that came from the living room as I grabbed two more beers and headed back to my room. I shut the door as Bobby walked out of my closet from the bathroom.

"Deacon," I reminded him as I handed him a beer.

"Right," he said as he shook his head. I saw the disappointment flash over his face before he gave me a small smile.

I climbed onto my bed after Bobby sat back down on the couch. I took a drink before I settled in to tell him about Moscow and what got me there.

* * *

_Thanks for all of the great support! As always, Thank you, Linda. Also a thank you to Myminorobession. Thanks for the help, Kate. Don't worry... More is coming!-Kate_


	7. Moscow

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

**Warning: There is some violence in this chapter. I apologize in advance if I offend, or upset, any readers.**

_A/N: Thank you Linda._

* * *

"Deacon and I were in Moscow four weeks ago," I said quietly as I stared into Bobby's eyes.

"What?" Bobby whispered as his face went pale.

"I was there," I said with a nod. It had reached the papers here in the states, so I knew that he had at least heard about it. "I saw the whole thing go down."

"Christ, Stephanie!" Bobby said as he stood back up and started pacing. "You aren't going to go anywhere near him again. That man is deranged. How can Alexander keep a man like that around?"

"I've asked him that same question," I said as I watched Bobby pace back and forth. "Family is Family no matter what they do."

"That's insane!" Bobby shouted as he turned to look at me. "You aren't to go back to Deal without me or one of the guys with you. I don't want that sick bastard anywhere near you."

"The only reason why I'll go along with that is because I agree with you on the 'sick bastard' part," I said, not making an issue out of the fact that he just issued an order.

"I just can't believe that you were there," Bobby said after he stared down at me for a moment. "What the hell happened?"

"Deacon is Alexander's equivalent to Ranger's Hector," I said in a way of explaining. "No one ever sees Deacon. I was never told exactly what his job title was. I just thought that we were heading out there for a meeting. I had no clue that what he did was part of the plan all along."

"That shit was planned?" Bobby gasped.

"Yeah," I said with a slight nod. "I had no clue. When we got to the warehouse, he said just to follow his lead."

"You helped?" Bobby asked in disbelief.

"God no!" I said in disgust. "Are you crazy? I'd never do that to someone."

"So you sat there and watched him?" Bobby asked, still in a shocked state.

"You saw Deacon. There's no way that I would have been able to stop him."

"I know," he said as he sadly shook his head. "You saw everything?"

"I walked out when he was working on the second guy," I said quietly. "I ran outside and threw up."

"Can't blame you. We heard all about it at RangeMan. Just hearing about it made my stomach flip over," he said as he flopped down on the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "I can't imagine what it must have been like for you."

"I still have nightmares about it," I whispered as I looked down at the carpet. "The first week was the worst. I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing all of that blood."

"Why did he do it?" Bobby asked.

"Alexander said that they found out that our contact in Russia was screwing us over," I said with a small shrug. "That's all that he would say."

"Why didn't you leave once you got back?" Bobby asked.

It was a valid question for someone from the outside to ask. He didn't understand the Family. You can't just pack up and walk out. I still have to go back to Deal whenever Alexander calls. I'm fine with dealing with Alexander. You can't judge a whole group by one person's actions. Everyone else in Alexander's 'organization' were always nice to me. It was like one big family. There was only one way to explain all of it. I looked over at Bobby and said one word, "Loyalty."

I fell silent as I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them. It was late and I was tired, but I knew that if I closed my eyes, I'd see it all over again. I had been fighting to hold back the tears and I just couldn't do it anymore. I threw my right arm over my head as the first of the tears fell. Bobby was right beside me as the dam broke and my body started shaking. I felt him move in behind me to lean against the head board as he pulled me into his arms. I had never allowed myself to feel any of this pain that I had locked up inside. I cried everything out and then finally drifted off to sleep in Bobby's arms after he got us laying down under the covers.

_I knew that I was dreaming, but it scared me just the same. We were standing at the back of the rental car putting on our vests and loading up on hardware. It was a simple request by Deacon and I really didn't think too much about it. I had often gone into meetings with Alexander dressed for worst case scenarios. I didn't even blink when Deacon handed me two Glocks._

"_There's a round already in each chamber," Deacon said softly. "Just follow my lead."_

_I nodded and walked with him over to the door on the south side of the building. We walked in and headed over to the six guys that were standing in the middle of the warehouse. I already knew one of them. Mischa Osterhoudt had been my contact for Moscow since Alexander first brought me on board. He gave me a warm smile as he lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles._

_I felt all of the blood drain from my face when I saw the blood start to seep through his shirt. I scanned the rest of the men and saw them all start to fall to the floor. I turned my head towards Deacon and saw the gun in his hand. The silver silencer caught the light from over head. I couldn't move. My mind was shouting to run, but my body just wasn't listening._

_I turned back to Mischa as he reached out and grabbed me. I screamed as he turned me around and brought a knife to my throat. Deacon raised his gun and shot just one round. I felt Mischa fall back and his knife nicked my neck. I watched as Deacon walked around the men that were laying on the ground. He stopped at each one and fired one shot into their heads until he got to the last two. He disarmed one of the men and cuffed him to a steel beam that supported the roof. _

_Deacon grabbed the other man that was trying to crawl away. He brought the man over to the center of the warehouse as he took out a very large, very sharp knife. I stood there, frozen in my spot, as I watched Deacon bend down and speak softly to the man. It all sounded like gibberish to me since I don't know Russian. I felt my mouth fall open when Deacon's knife came up to the man's face and sliced into the skin that covered his forehead. The man screamed out when the knife dug into his skin._

"_Please," the man shouted in English. "I don't know what you want to know!"_

"_That just won't do," Deacon said quietly._

_My stomach tilted when the knife came up again and cut into the man's cheek. I stood there and watched as Deacon continued to disfigure the man. I listened to his screams for help and his pleas for his life. Deacon didn't seem to hear him. He just kept cutting into the man's face. I felt a small wave of dizziness pass through me when Deacon cut the man's ear off. They were both covered in the man's blood. I could no longer tell what color the man's hair was, or the color of his shirt for that matter. I could only see his blood as his voice rang in my head. I said a quick prayer when he fell silent. _

_I don't know if he's dead, or just passed out, but either way Deacon seemed to lose interest in the man's head. I watched in horror as Deacon used his knife to cut off the man's fingers, one by one. I'm not sure why he did it, but I guess it made some sort of statement all the same. He cut the man's clothes off and then, starting at the man's feet, he ran the knife along the man's skin. Blood started spilling out of the cuts and onto the concrete. I watched it start to head in my direction, but I still couldn't get my body move. I must have made a sound because Deacon looked over at me. He saw the blood rolling towards me and walked over to my side._

"_You're okay, Stephanie," he said quietly as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off his hands. Once they were clean, he took my hands and pulled me away from the blood. He stood me off to the side, about ten feet from the man that was still cuffed to the beam. He saw the knife nick on my neck and brought out another handkerchief. He placed it on the side of my neck and placed my hand over it to hold it in place. The whole time, I hadn't taken my eyes off of the man that was lying on the floor. "Just stay right here."_

_I gave him a slight nod and watched him walk back over to the man that was lying on the floor. He pulled out his gun and shot the man in the head. I let out a whoosh of air knowing that the man was finally out of his misery if he wasn't dead already. That feeling was short lived as Deacon walk to the man that was just a few feet away from me. _

_I listened as Deacon squatted in front of the man and quietly spoke to him. More gibberish. Deacon frowned at the man when he only shook his head 'no'. He brought his knife back out in a flash and I felt drops of blood hit me in the face. Deacon had relieved this man of one of his ears as well._

_Nothing could have prepared me for what Deacon did next. I couldn't understand why Deacon was taking the man's clothes off. I watched as he removed the man's shirt and pants, cutting the shirt to get it completely off. My stomach dropped at the sight of the naked, bound man. Blood was slowly running down his left shoulder from the bullet that had come from Deacon's gun. I didn't know the words that he said, but I could hear the pleading in his voice._

_It happened so quickly that it took my mind a minute to process what I had just seen. Deacon's new play toy was screaming out in agony as Deacon reached into the deep cut that he had inflicted on the man's stomach. I felt the bile start to rise in my throat when Deacon pulled out, what I could only assume to be, that man's intestines. _

_That was the straw that broke my back. I turned and ran out of the warehouse to the rental car that we had outside. I bent over and started throwing up. I saw Deacon's blood covered shoes come into my view as I continued to throw up. I felt him hand come up and rub my back in slow circles._

"_Don't touch me," I growled between vomiting._

"_Stay here while I finish up," he said quietly. "Don't go back into the warehouse."_

_I just nodded as I continued to dry heave. Once I felt that I was done, I opened the back door to the rental and pulled out my duffle bag. I pulled out my make-up bag and removed the mirror from inside. I looked pretty pale and I had blood splattered across my face. I grabbed a small bottle of water off of the back seat and wet down a sock that I had grabbed from my bag. I quickly leaned up the small cut on my neck and then washed off my face._

_I took a moment to take a good look at my surroundings. The warehouse sat out in the middle of nowhere. There weren't any cars driving down the road that was about a half a mile away. I figured that Deacon would still be a few minutes, so I took this opportunity to change my clothes. I had managed to get blood all over myself. I took off my cream pant suit and heals and changed into a black sweater and jeans. _

_I was sitting on the back seat, lacing up my boots, when I realized that Deacon was taking a long time to finish up. I stood up and shut the back door as I looked down at my watch. He had been in there for about an hour. I knew that he told me to stay outside, but I wanted to get the hell out of here. I walked over to the door and headed back inside. That had been a huge mistake._

_There was blood and body parts all over the warehouse. Deacon had stripped all of the man and dismembered all of them, tossing their removed parts precariously around the large room. I spotted Deacon kneeling over one of the men. I felt a new wave of nausea roll through me when I saw him cut off the man's penis and throw it across the room._

"_Oh God," I whispered. How could I have not stopped this from happening? Why did Alexander send me out here to be a part of this?_

"_I told you not to come back in here," Deacon said when he looked over his shoulder at me. His voice was cold and flat. "I'm almost done. I'll be out in a few minutes. Go sit in the car."_

_I never got the chance to turn around and run back outside. A heavy blackness enveloped me as I passed out. I had welcomed the darkness as a way to easy the pressure that had been building up inside my head. All of those men were dead and I had done nothing to stop it. I don't even know why._

I slowly opened my eyes and looked into the most perfect pair of amber eyes. The light on my night stand had been turned on and I was looking up at an angel. Bobby was hovering over me as he cupped my face. My vision got blurry, so I blinked the tears away.

"It was just a dream, Honey," Bobby whispered as he wiped the tears away. "You're okay."

"There was so much blood," I whispered.

"I know," Bobby whispered as he lowered himself down on top of me and took my in his arms. "It'll get better. I promise."

I wrapped my arms around his chest as I felt a few more tears roll down my cheeks. In the passed, I had always jumped out of bed and raced to the gym. I would spend about an hour beating on a punching bag to get the nightmare out of my head. I had focused all of my energy on the bag as I pictured Deacon.

I had looked at my alarm clock as I went to turn off the light and realized that it would have been stupid. It was four fifty-five. The alarm would be going off in five minutes, so I settled myself back down and just held Bobby. I ran my fingers through his hair as he rested his head on my shoulder. I had to grin when he left out a soft groan as my fingers lightly ran down his back.

"Not fair," he whispered. "We don't have enough time this morning."

"Maybe we can find enough time tonight," I whispered back.

"Just so you know, it's been a while for me," Bobby whispered as he lifted his head to look down at me.

"Me, too," I said as I reached up and pushed his hair off of his forehead.

"I can't imagine that for you," he said with a frown. "You're too beautiful to go without someone throwing themselves at you feet."

"None of them were you," I confessed with a small smile.

"I know the feeling," he said with his own smile. "But I think that I've been waiting a little longer then you have."

The alarm went off before I could ask how long. Bobby reached over and turned it off as he rolled out of bed. I felt my mouth start to water as I watched him stretch out his muscles. Even at five in the morning, he still looked amazing. I, on the other hand, knew that I looked like hell. I could only imagine how my hair looked. I was pretty sure that it was sticking out everywhere, so I saved myself the embarrassment and didn't lift my head off of my pillow.

"You always look amazing," Bobby said when he caught my insecure look. "Even when you first get up. It's actually my favorite time of the day."

"How can you say that? My hair is everywhere," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Of course it is," Bobby said with a chuckle. "It's sexy when it's everywhere."

"Yeah. Right," I said sarcastically.

"Get out of bed and get ready," Bobby said as he made his way to the door. "You have ten minutes."

I rolled out of bed once he disappeared down the hall. I went to the bathroom to answer nature's call and threw my hair up in a pony tail. I dumped one of my duffle bags out and threw in one of my RangeMan uniforms that was still in my closet. I added my travel toiletry bag and my boots. I stood there for a moment and looked in my bag. I tossed in a white tank top, a pair of heals, thigh highs, garter belt, lacy bra, and matching panties. I through my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my black shirt suit out of the garment bag that Ram had hung up yesterday afternoon. I made my way out of my closet and tossed my Glock and my H&K in my purse. I scanned my mental check list and then deemed myself ready for anything. Well, anything but telling Ranger what I had really been up to. That was something that I wasn't looking forward to.

"You ready?" Bobby asked from my doorway.

"Yeah," I said as I took the hand that he was holding out to me. "Let's get the show on the road."


	8. Honesty in the Locker Room

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters. I'm just playing with them. Trip is mine.

_A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long. Thanks again to the lovely Mrs. Linda. I'd be stuck half way through this chapter without you. Love you, Babe!_

* * *

I was standing in the shower in the locker room at RangeMan, thinking about my dream, and thanking God that it hadn't had its normal effect on me. I climbed out of the shower and wrapped one towel around my head and another around my body. I nodded at Ranger, who had evidently thought that he could come in whenever he wanted, who was sitting on one of the benches that sat in front of the lockers.

"We need to have a talk," I said as I started riffling though my bag.

"We do," Ranger said in agreement. "I received a call from Alexander last night."

"Really?" I asked as I turned around to look at Ranger. "And what did the two of you talk about?"

"He expressed some concern over an issue that you are having with one of his men."

"Did he tell you everything that revolves around this issue?" I asked as I leaned against the wall across from him.

"He told me about what happened in Moscow."

"I figured that much," I said as I stared at him. "Did he tell you what was suppose to happen in Moscow?"

"I'm not sure that I understand, Babe," Ranger said after a moment. "Why don't you tell me."

"So, I'm sure that Alexander told you what I've been up to lately?" I asked.

Ranger just nodded his head affirmatively, giving nothing away as to how he felt about my job duties for the Ramos family.

"Deacon and I went to Moscow. I was told it was just suppose to be a meeting," I said as I pulled off my towel and started drying off. He's already seen it all anyway, right? I continued as I started pulling on my underwear. "We were sent to confront Mischa about rumors Alexander had heard involving a deal he had with the Russians and the fact that they were planning a double cross." I slid on my bra and then began buttoning my shirt.

"Our message to Mischa was supposed to be, 'Don't fuck with Alexander Ramos, or this is what will happen.' Mischa wasn't supposed to die. No one was."

"I thought that he held a knife to your throat," Ranger said. "Exactly what was Deacon suppose to do, stand there and watch you die?"

"Mischa was smiling and kissing my hand in greeting when Deacon shot him the first time. When he grabbed me and held a knife to my throat, he was only trying to save his life. Not that it did him any good. Deacon's just shot hit him between the eyes. Deacon shot Mischa on purpose, he had gone into this meeting with every intention of killing him and the others, and then he had the balls to try to coerce me into lying to cover up for him."

"Babe."

"What?" I shouted as I put my loaded holster on over my tank top. "I told Alexander what really happened. Deacon is on my shit list because he still won't fess up to totally fucking up that whole situation. I'm not fixing anything with Deacon."

Ranger stood up and started to the door. When he got there, he turned and looked at me again. "Why didn't Deacon just kill you too and say you got caught in the crossfire? Why would he take a chance that you wouldn't cover for him with Alexander?" Ranger's voice was quiet, but I could tell that he wasn't happy with what I'd told him. I also knew without a doubt that he believed every word I'd said.

"I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that before we left for Moscow Alexander threatened to kill Deacon if something happened to me."

"That would do it." Ranger's lips tipped up at the corners in amusement. We both knew that Alexander Ramos didn't make empty threats.

I offered Ranger a small smile, grateful for his friendship and his loyalty.

"You ought to understand that, considering how many times in the past you've made the same threat to your own men."

Ranger's half smile stayed in place for a few seconds more before turning serious again. "Is there anything else I should know? Have you left anything out?"

"No. That's all of it." I was relieved to finally have everything out in the open.

"Okay," he said with a nod. He looked down at his watch and said, "My office. Fifteen minutes."

"I'll be able to do that if you people can let me finish getting ready," I said haughtily. "You of all people should know that I don't wake up looking perfect. Unlike that rest of your crew."

He simply gave me a full 200 watt smile as he backed out of the locker room. I turned back to the mirror in front of me and continued my process of beautifying myself. I walked out of the locker room to a flurry of cat calls and whistles. I guess the guys like my skirt suit better then my last RangeMan uniform of cargos and t-shirts. I hit the break room and grabbed a coffee for me and an herbal tea for Ranger.

I knocked on Ranger's office door at exactly eight o'clock. He opened the door before my knuckles hit the door a second time. He smiled as he took the offered cup of tea and waved me in. He was on his cell, so I silently walked in and sat in one of the visitor's chairs. I had been able to gather that he was speaking to someone in the Miami office. Something about sending two guys out to pick something up. The conversation was one sided so I decided to just tune it out and looked out the office window as I drank my coffee.

"… her first day back."

I was brought out of my thoughts when I had been able to figure out that they were talking about me.

"No… Sales… Keep dreaming… No… Bobby… She seems to be."

"I'm right here for crying out loud," I muttered.

Ranger just smiled.

"You guys are worse then a hen house," I whined.

That earned me a chuckle.

"Alright… Yeah. I'll call you later," Ranger said and then closed his phone. He stood up and walked around his desk. "You ready to see your new office?"

"I get my own office?" I asked in shock as I stood up.

"On the fourth floor," Ranger said with a nod. "Along with a partner."

"Trip?" I asked as we walked down the isle towards the cubicle section of the fourth floor.

"That'd be right."

We walked silently through the cubicles and got on the elevator. We stood next to each other and looked at each other's reflections in the sliding doors. He smiled and threw his arm around my shoulder as he took a side step closer.

"No poaching," I warned with a smile.

He tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter. It was a warm, rich sound that still did something to my insides. I was now able to put a name to that feeling. It was the simple joy of being near a friend.

I stopped in my tracks as I walked out of the elevator. The only thing that I recognized on the fourth floor were the doors to two remaining apartment when you first walk off the elevator. One on each side. Then, it opened into a large area that had a reception desk, which sat vacant, and three black leather couches placed in a conversational style. There were three doors on the right and three along the left of the reception area. Plus there were three that ran along the back wall. Two of those doors were for the restrooms and the other said employees only. Probably a break room of sorts.

I followed Ranger to the right and saw that each door had a plaque. Each plaque had the name of the person and their job title. Silvio was in the first office. I popped my head in and waved to him. He was on the phone and grabbed a maker as he turned to a white board behind him. He wrote quickly and then smiled at me.

_I'll be over in twenty!_

The next office had my name on it with 'Sales' written under my name. I ran my fingers over the plaque as we walked past. Ranger walked right into the last office and held the door open for me. I noted the name on the plaque. Andrew Tripowski.

"Trip?" Ranger said as we walked into the seemingly empty office.

"Fucking piece of shit!" I heard come out from under the desk. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Really?' Ranger asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the warning."

"I was talking to this shredder," the man said as he popped his head out from under the desk. "It keeps on jamming up."

"It helps if you don't try to shred a bunch at once," I offered with a knowing smile. I hated shredders, too.

"But then it takes longer," he said as he smiled up at me. "You must be Bomber."

"Not for the last five months," I said as I bent over the desk and shook the hand that he offered me. It was a firm shake and he looked me directly in the eyes. That's a nice change. "I'll answer to Bomber, but I kind of prefer Steph."

"Gotcha," he said as he stood up. Yikes! He's as tall as Tank! "My name is Andrew Tripowski, as I'm sure that you already read as you walked in. I go by Andy, or Trip."

"I was wondering about the nick name," I confessed.

He leaned over the desk towards me, his bright green eyes dancing, as he whispered, "I'm a rather large klutz."

"Not exactly light on your feet," I whispered back with an understanding nod. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Hello," Ranger said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. "I'm still here."

"I can see that," I said, continuing to smile. "You can probably go back to work now. I'm sure that Trip can point me in the right direction."

"Babe," he said with a smile and then disappeared.

"Your nickname really does suit him," Trip said with a chuckle as he rounded the desk. He grabbed the planner off of his desk and threw an arm around my shoulder. "Have you seen your new office yet?"

"Nope," I said as I smiled up at him. He was nothing like the rest of the Merry Men. Definitely not the quiet guy that Bobby had described. He seemed to be more outgoing and energetic. "Let's check it out."

I let Trip steer me out of his office and into the reception area. He pointed at the desk and said, "We should have someone sitting there once we get all of the kinks work out up here."

"There are kinks?" I asked.

"Security issues," he said with a shrug as he steered me towards the door to my office. He opened the door with a flourish and said, "Your office, Madame."

I walked into my new office and had to smile. Someone had hung a very large picture on the wall of me… Standing in front of a car that was on fire. In bright red lettering across the bottom it said 'Bombshell'. I walked over to the picture and tried to figure out with car it was. It took a moment, but the I saw the edge of a garbage truck. I was standing in front of Ranger's Porsche.

I shook my head sadly and turned around to look at the rest of my new office. The desk was extremely large and made out of a dark oak. There was a couch with a coffee table, sitting along the wall to the left as we walked in, that sat on an oriental rug. The carpet was a very non-descript beige. I noticed the doors in either corner, but was too into looking around to press about it at first. I walked around the desk and sat in the black leather chair. I leaned back and it rocked. Perfect, I thought with a smile. I turned around in the chair and noted the locking filing cabinets, keys still in the locks. There was a real tree in the corner next to a large picture window that had the blind open. I'll kill that in two weeks. The dark red curtains matched the red in the rug on the other side of the room.

"So," I said as I turned my attention back to Trip. "What's behind the doors?"

"This one goes to my office," Trip said as he stood up. He walked over to the door to my right and unlocked it before he opened it. "Your office has been empty since I got here two months ago, so we just kept it locked up. The other one goes to Silvios. The three of us will be working closely, so I asked Ranger to have a contractor come back in and install the doors"

I nodded and watched him as he took a single key off of it and handed it to him. I took the key out of the filing cabinet and placed the door key on the same ring. Then, I turned my attention to the planner that sat on my desk. I flipped it open to the current week and saw that I was already scheduled for a lunch. The writing was Ranger's, so I decided to just go with it.

"The first few weeks," Trip said, pulling me out of my thoughts, "you and I will go to meeting together. Once you feel comfortable, then you can start doing the meetings on your own. Just let me know when I need to cut you lose."

"Did Ranger explain to you that I do have other obligations?" I asked.

"He did," he said with a nod. "I only ask that you try to give me as much notice as possible to be able to cover any meetings that you have scheduled."

"That won't be a problem."

"I brought in my planner so that we could coordinate our schedules," he said as he held his up.

I pulled open the top drawer to my desk and grabbed a blue and a red pen. Color coordination would probably be easier. We spent the next twenty minutes going over the rest of this week. It looked like the only thing that I would have open was my nights.

"Are suits preferred?" I asked.

"For meetings, yes," he said with a nod. "But, I'd suggest that you keep a regular RangeMan uniform here. You never know what I day will turn out like. I once had to participate in a last minute take down and ended up covered in garbage."

"Finally," I said with a laugh. "I'm not the only one that gets covered in garbage."

"Our first appointment is at nine in northern Trenton," Trip said, quickly steering the conversation in a different direction as he stood. "I need to pull some stuff together and then we can take off. Why don't you stop in and see Silvio and I'll grab you on my way out?"

"Okey Dokey," I said with a shrug.


	9. Back to Alexander's

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: Thank you, Linda, for holding my hand and putting up with my crap through this story. Kisses._

* * *

"What in the hell were you thinking?" I shouted as I walked into the formal living room of Alexander's Deal mansion. "You can't just call Ranger like that." 

"This issue between you and Deacon is out of control," Alexander said after he took a drink from the glass he was holding. It was always a glass of Scotch at noon. "You two can't even be in the same house anymore. This has to stop."

"He's the only one that can fix it," I said slowly through clenched teeth. "I've told you this before."

"He saved your life."

"He shouldn't have had to!" I shouted as I waved my arms.

"Your temper fascinates me," Alexander commented with a slow smile. "You would have loved my parents."

"My temper isn't the issue right now. I should have been the one to tell Ranger about my life. Not you, because of your need for peace in the Family," I said as I reigned in my temper. I hated being amusing to him.

"You're right," Alexander said as he walked over to stand in front of me. "I'm sorry that I called Ranger. I should have left something that important up to you."

"You actually saved me from a very difficult conversation," I said as I closed the distance and wrapped my arms around his waist. "You are forgiven, as always."

"I dread the day that I do something that won't earn your forgiveness, Little One," Alexander whispered in my hair as he brought his arms around me.

"So do I," I whispered with a tight squeeze. I tilted my head up and smiled as I said, "I think that it's safe to get Bobby out of my car now."

"Oh," Alexander said as his eyes started to twinkle. "Have you told him?"

"Yeah," I said as I shook my head and moved out of his arms. I grimaced and said, "He took it pretty well."

"I imagine that a man with his physical capabilities caused some damage," Alexander said with a chuckle as he steered me back towards the door.

"He destroyed a flat screen TV and put several large holes in the walls of his bedroom," I said as I gave him a weak smile. "I'm having a contractor come and give me an estimate tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds fun," Alexander said with a grimace.

"Yeah," I said with my own grimace as I opened the door. "A great big party."

"I love your uniform," Alexander commented as he pointed at my t-shirt.

I had changed into one of my old RangeMan uniforms once Trip and I had gotten back to the office after our meeting this morning. I didn't really want to move the rest of my stuff from Deal to Trenton in a skirt suit and heals.

"It's comfortable," I said with a shrug.

"Your man seems to like Angelo," Alexander said as he walked down the stairs.

Bobby and Angelo were looking at guns. It seems that they were looking over each others weapons. Bobby leveled Angelo's gun and took aim at a tree on the other side of the compound. I heard Angelo give him the go ahead to fire, I had to actually check for drool when I watched as the muscles in his arms rippled when he pulled the trigger. A second after he pulled the trigger, I heard the bark of the tree splinter. I didn't have to look to know that he had hit the tree dead center.

"He's very good," Alexander said quietly as he looked at the tree fifty yards away.

"I try to get into the gun range at work twice a week," Bobby said as he swapped guns with Angelo and holstered his own. "But I never get the chance to do any long range target practice."

Bobby smiled and held out his hand to me with a silent question written in his eyes as he turned towards us. His smile was breathtaking and it sent a warm, fuzzy feeling straight to my stomach. He searched my eyes as I gave him a big grin when I took his hand in mine. I guess the ESP thing was working because his smile got a little bigger as he pulled me into his arms and dropped a kiss on my head. Everything was okay.

"Are you really going to pick up all of your stuff?" Angelo asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," I said as I pulled back from Bobby slightly and looked over at Angelo. "I'm taking everything. Once I get unpacked in Trenton, then I'll bring a bag back out here like Alexander and I had already discussed."

"Everything?" Alexander asked as I started steering Bobby towards the house.

"Yes, Alexander," I called over my shoulder. Evidently they weren't following us in. "Even my guns."

"Guns?" Bobby asked as we walked up the stairs.

"Yes," I said with a nod. "I have a few more."

I guided him down the hallway to my room on the first floor of the mansion. Ares and I were the only ones that lived down here. It was closer to the kitchen and the gym. Plus, it was easier to come and go without waking anyone else up. I was a little surprised when I saw all of the plain brown boxes neatly stacked at the end of my bed. There was a small piece of paper laying on top of one of the boxes. I grabbed the paper and opened it up to read the small note on the inside.

_Skylla,_

_I thought that I would be nice and box up your stuff for you. It gave me some time to say good bye since I wouldn't be here to do that. I have a job that took me out of town very early this morning. Athens._

_I love you and I will miss you terribly. The house will be very quiet without you. Who am I suppose to snuggle with at night?_

_I've got a bad feeling. Please vest up for me until I get back. I'll call you as soon as I land._

_All of my heart forever,_

_Ares_

Bobby had moved in behind me and read the letter with me. I handed him the letter and looked down at the two cases that sat next to the boxes. I grabbed both of them and sat them on my bed. I checked both guns before I closed each case and locked them up with their special electronically encoded keys. One can never be too careful with their tools of the trade.

"Nice M-76," Bobby said quietly from a chair that he had sat down on.

"Thanks," I said as I turned around to look at him. "It's my first sniper riffle. Ares bought it for me."

"Should I be worried about Ares?" Bobby asked as he held up the letter.

"Not for a second," I said as I walked across my room and knelt down in front of him. I took his hands in mine as I looked up into his eyes. "He helped me out a lot when I first got here. I guess that I helped him out some, too. There were a lot of days that we never left each other's side. He was there for my first job. I went into an emotional overload and Ares helped me figure out how to put myself back together. Then he showed me how to deal with the emotions before they took over. He's like a brother to me."

"What about the snuggling thing?" Bobby asked sadly as he looked down at our hands.

"He has nightmares sometimes," I said as I squeezed his hand to get him to look at me. "Nothing sexual ever happened between me and Ares. Like I said last night… I haven't been with anyone because none of them were you."

"Are you sure that I'm the one that you want?" he asked quietly.

He looked from our hands to my eyes and I knew that I had found everything that I had ever been looking for. He was the best of Ranger and Joe. He had the lethal body and brilliant mind set of Ranger. But, like Joe, he also had no problem showing his emotions or committing to a relationship. Damn, I thought, I got lucky with this one.

"How could I not want to be with you?" I asked.

"When you left… I thought that you hated me," Bobby confessed.

"God, no," I said as I reached up and cupped his face with my hands. "I'm sorry that I left the way that I did. But, I had to leave so that I could come back."

"I don't understand," he said as his right hand came up and cupped the side of my face.

"I was an emotional wreck," I explained. "You saw what happened in the garage. That was just the tip of the iceburg for me. I needed to get my shit together. Both mentally and physically."

"I knew that you were having problems," Bobby said with a slight nod. "But, I didn't think that you would feel the need to run to get things fixed."

"I didn't run, Bobby. I had to distance myself. I needed to get away from everyone that was close to me so that I could work on myself."

"I could have helped you," Bobby said as he slid off of the chair and sunk down on the floor in front of me.

"You helped me more than you know," I said as I crawled into his lap. "That day in the garage, when I flipped out, you took charge and did what was in my best interest. I could have hurt myself or someone else. My shoulder was still healing and I could have done permanent damage if you hadn't sedated me."

"I was afraid that you hated me," he whispered.

"I could never hate you," I whispered back as my vision blurred. Damn it! I should have called him. I blinked and felt a tear roll down my cheek. I took a deep breath and continued whispering. "I thought about you every day that I was gone. I wanted to call you a million times. But, I couldn't call you until I knew that I was better. I wanted to be better for you. Emotionally and physically. I wanted to come back as a stronger person in hopes that you would want to be with me."

Bobby sat there silently looking into my eyes. He was processing everything that I had just told him. I saw a hint of a smile when his fingers laced into my hair as he pulled me forward. He captured my lips with his in the sweetest kiss that I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. A moan escaped my throat when his left arm came around my waist and pulled me flush against his chest. I parted my lips and felt fire shoot through my veins as his tongue slid slowly across mine. I threaded my fingers through his soft brown hair and heard a low groan come from deep in his chest.

Disappointment flooded through me when I heard Bobby's cell ring. He was still on call so he had no choice but to release my lips as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He flipped his phone open after he took a few deep breaths to slow his breathing that had been quickened by the kiss. I stood up and walked over to the boxes once he put the phone to his ear.

"Brown… No… Too Bad… Well, she's my girl friend… But, I've already made plans for tonight… No, you can't come along," Bobby said as he walked up beside me and slid an arm around my waist. "I can't believe that I had to stop kissing her to have this conversation."

I slapped him playfully on the shoulder and grabbed one of the boxes. We still had to get this stuff into the back of my Bronco and get it back to Trenton. Preferably within the next decade. Bobby grabbed two boxes and carried them out behind me as he continued his phone call. I was amazed that he was able to carry the boxes and keep his phone trapped between his ear and his shoulder at the same time.

"Look," Bobby said once the rambling ended on the other end. " 'Boyfriend Time' trumps 'Cal Movie Time' any day of the week."

"I don't know," I said over my shoulder. "That's a tough call."

"No. It's not," Bobby said to me with a glare.

"Sure it is," I laughed. "At least I know that if I choose Cal, I'll get to sit in the dark, eating buttery popcorn, watching a great movie, next to a hot guy. I have yet to experience 'Boyfriend Time'. I don't know what to expect."

Bobby chuckled as he walked up to the back of the Bronco. He froze half way through placing his two boxes in the back. Cal had obviously said something that got to him. For a moment, I thought that Bobby's head was going to explode. His face was starting to turn red with anger. I decided that maybe his conversation was over with Cal, so I took his phone and closed it. Hanging up on Cal in the process.

"If we hurry," Bobby said once he sat the boxes down, "I can show you just how great 'Boyfriend Time' can be for the rest of the afternoon and tonight."

I slid my hands up his chest and linked my fingers behind his neck as I said, "I think that you have a fine idea."


	10. Sick Feelings

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: As always... I'd still be sitting in front of a blank screen without the wonderful Mrs. Linda. Love ya, Babe!_

* * *

_January 2nd, 3:45 P.M. RangeMan, Forth Floor, Stephanie's office._

I've been feeling off all day long. It started while I was in the shower after Bobby and I worked out this morning. I wasn't able to put my finger on the feeling in the pit of my stomach until about an hour ago. That's when I realized that I hadn't heard from Ares in eight days. Something wasn't right. I had called Alexander and he had told me that Ares was perfectly fine. If he was fine, then why was I feeling this way?

"You okay?"

I lifted my head out of my hands and looked at Bobby as I straightened up. He looked relaxed as he leaned against the door to my office. But, I could see the concern in his eyes and some tension in his neck.

"Something's wrong," I said quietly. I wasn't use to having such a vague feeling. My senses were always so much stronger and acute. "It's Ares."

"Have you tried calling him?" Bobby asked as he came all the way into my office and shut the door.

"He isn't answering," I said as I shook my head. "It goes straight to his voice mail. I know that something is wrong."

"What has Alexander said about this?" he asked as he sat in one of the visitor's chairs on the other side of my desk.

"He said that Ares was fine and that I was worrying about nothing," I huffed as I flung my hands up in the air.

"Why don't you see if Silvio can track him down?"

"I'm one step ahead of you there," I said as I leaned forward again and rested my head on the edge of my desk. I had ended up telling Silvio and Trip about my association with Alexander. I thought that it was important for the two of them to know since we were working so closely. "We ran all of his aliases, but we didn't come up with much. We were able to track him back here to the states. He was on a plane that landed at JFK three days ago and then he disappeared."

"I'm sure that he's around somewhere," Bobby said as he came around my desk and knelt beside me. "He'll turn up sooner or later."

"At this point, I'm worried about how he's going to turn up," I whispered. I closed my eyes tightly when I felt the familiar burn behind them. "I'm afraid that he might _turn up_ in the river."

"You can't think that way right now," Bobby whispered as he rubbed my back.

"You're right," I said as I sat back up and gave him a small smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to let you know that I have to go 'in the wind'," Bobby said slowly as he gauged my reaction.

My first instinct was to cry, so I leaned my head back down into my hands. My second instinct was to ask questions. I thought that the second one was the better way to go. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Ranger, Vince, Binkie, Lester, Zero, Hector, and I are going to South America," Bobby said quietly.

"That's a lot of Merry Men to go 'in the wind'," I said warily as I looked over at him.

Bobby just nodded his head. It was like he was waiting for me to catch up with him. I ran the list of names through my head again and looked for a common thread. I searched his eyes as the common thread popped into my head. "Simultaneous hits?"

Bobby nodded his head again and leaned back like he was waiting for something more. I knew what he was waiting for. He was expecting me to get pissed that I wasn't invited. I'll admit that I was. I just wasn't about to blow up about it.

"How long will you be gone?" I asked after I took a deep breath to knock down my anger by a notch.

"A week."

"Do you think that they might need me in the field while you are gone?" I asked as I reached out and took his hand in mine.

"I'll tell Tank to hit you up if he needs help," Bobby said as he squeezed my hand. "You are taking this a lot better then I thought you would."

"I was going to cry first," I admitted with a small smile. "But I didn't think that crying would help."

"You're right," he said with a nod as he turned my chair so that I was facing him. He got on his knees and leaned up between my legs. He cupped my face and pulled me closer to him as he whispered, "I'm proud of you."

I love Bobby. But, the man is driving me crazy. _He_ decided that we should wait to have sex until the time was right. Yeah. I didn't know that there wasn't a right time to have sex. Well, maybe it's not the right time while we're at the office. But, if he was going to continue to kiss me the way he is now, I might not be able to stop myself from ripping his clothes off. He must have read my mind because he broke off the kiss. Air rushed back into my lungs and my head started to clear from its aroused haze. He smiled up at me and then stood up.

"You do that on purpose, don't you?" I asked with a scowl.

"Do what?" he asked with an innocent look on his face.

"That's not funny, Brown," I warned. "One of these days…"

"Yeah," he said as he reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear. "One of these days."

I leaned back in my chair and watched him leave my office. I could stare at his perfect ass for hours. I hated to watch him go, but I loved to watch him leave. I wanted to sink my teeth into his backside. I wanted to feel his skin under my lips. Hell, I wanted all of him! But, these thoughts weren't helping me at the moment. They were only turning me on more.

I took several deep breaths to calm my raging hormones and thought about what Bobby had just told me. I was a little pissed that Ranger hadn't thought about asking me to go with him. The old Stephanie wouldn't have minded not going to a third world country. But, the new Stephanie felt that it was a slap in the face that Ranger wouldn't have thought about taking me along.

It was that thought that had me turning towards my computer. If he didn't ask me, maybe he just needed some references to my work. It took thirty minutes to compile a folder with newspaper articles that I had pulled off of the net from the last four months. Then, I pulled my passport out of the safe, that I now kept in the bottom drawer of my desk, and made copies of most of the pages.

I stuck the photocopies into the folder with the news articles and left my office. I took the stairs up to the fifth floor. I decided to take it upon myself to stop by Tank's office. I thought that it might be better to talk to him myself, instead of having Bobby as a messenger. I knocked on his door and walked in when I was given the go ahead.

"What's up, Bomber?" Tank asked.

"I can't believe that you guys still call me that," I said with a sigh as I sat in one of the visitor's chairs in front of his desk.

"It's a nickname," he said with a very slight shrug.

"I haven't blown anything up in over five months," I pointed out.

"Did you really come in here to talk about your nickname?" Tank asked as he leaned back in his chair and leveled his gaze at me.

"No," I said as I shook my head. "I thought that I'd stop by and let you know that I'm game if you need me in the field while the guys are gone."

"I was actually going to come up and see you about that," Tank said as a slow smile spread across his lips. "I'm having scheduling issues."

"Just let me know when you need me," I said warily. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"I have a bunch of surveillance shifts that I need to cover."

Tank knew how much I hated surveillance. It was so damn boring sitting in a Bronco all night long. My butt always fell asleep and my legs would cramp up. It was definitely low on the fun scale. I sighed and shook my head. I wasn't going to have a big choice in this.

"Clear it with Trip and then drop a schedule on my desk," I relented.

"That's my girl," Tank said as his smile got bigger. "I'll have it to you by the end of the day."

I stood up and walked to the door. I was about to open it, but I stopped and turned back to Tank. He was still smiling at me. I opened my mouth and then quickly shut it before I turned back to the door to leave. Tank's voice stopped me before I opened the door.

"What were you going to say?"

I turned back and looked at the large man that sat behind the desk. He had frightened me the first time that I had ever seen him. He had been closed off and had seemed dangerous after he had thrown a guy out of a window. Things change over time and I had discovered that Tank was an easy person to talk to. But, I had been absent for so long, that I wasn't sure if we were still on the same page as we were before I left.

"I was going to say thank you," I finally said.

"For what?" Tank asked as his brows furrowed.

"For giving me a chance."

He stared at me for a moment. The brows finally relaxed as a smile spread over his face once more. He stood up and walked over to me. I was engulfed in a tight hug that was warm. It was a real hug from a friend.

"I want to see what the last five months have done for you," Tank whispered into my hair. He leaned back and looked down at me. "If you show improvement, then I'll see about getting you out of the office some."

"That sounds fair to me," I said as I gave him a squeeze. "If that's your intention, then partner me up with Cal."

"Why Cal?" Tank asked as he finally released my waist and took a step back.

"I've spent a lot of time on surveillance with Cal," I said with a smile. "He's the one that would be able to tell you if I've improved at all."

"All right," he said with a nod.

"I'll see you later," I said as I opened the door.

"Sure, Bomber," Tank said as he rounded his desk and sat back down.

I spotted Bobby as I walked towards Ranger's office and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled and nodded at me. I had better ESP with him than I did with any of the other guys. He caught my drift about Tank and was happy for me. Bobby was one of my biggest supporters when it came to my abilities. He was always pushing me in the gym and on the range. We pushed each other.

I knocked on Ranger's door and opened it once I heard him call me in. Damn cameras. I walked in and sat in one of his visitor's chairs as I dropped the file on his desk. He looked from the file to me.

"What's that?" he asked as he pointed at the file.

"References," I said simply.

"References for what?" Ranger asked as he flipped the file open.

"References for being a hit man."

Ranger looked up from the file and raised an eyebrow at me.

"I figured that you didn't invite me on your little mission tomorrow, because you didn't have any references," I said calmly, even though I was starting to get angry again. "I thought that you might want to see what I'm capable of."

Ranger looked back down at the file and started looking through the papers. I had taken the time to highlight names and dates in the articles for him. He froze when he got to the first page of the copies of my passport. I guess my alias threw him off. I thought that it was funny to use his last name. I was glad that the humor wasn't lost on him when he tilted his head back and let out a bark of laughter. He has a great laugh.

"Nice alias," he said once he got himself under control.

"It was my downfall," I scowled. "That's how Cal found out."

"Probably would have been better off using Smith or Brown. Those are more common names," Ranger said as he studied the rest of my passport. "Or, having more then one."

"One suited my short term purposes," I said with a shrug.

Ranger leaned back in his chair and studied me for a moment. I thought about putting on my blank face. But instead, I let him see the anger and hurt that he had caused by not considered me for their mission.

"I'm already set for this mission," Ranger finally said. "But, I will let you know if your skills are needed on any further missions."

"That's all that I ask," I said with a nod as I stood up. "I want to be a part of this team, Ranger. That means that you are going to have to use me the way you use the rest of the guys."

"I'm sorry that I didn't think about bringing you in on this," Ranger said as he stood up.

I held my hand up to stop him from coming around the desk. The innocent contact that I had just had with Tank had stirred my hormones up and I didn't need to go through that again with Ranger. Just the faint smell of his soap was starting to get to me in my weakened, horny state. Jeez, I really need to get laid.

"It's a little new for the both of us," I finally said. "Just think about me next time."

"Okay," Ranger said with a nod. Then he tilted his head to the side as he looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?"

"No," I said with my hand still raised as I backed up to the door. "Bobby isn't putting out and the smell of your soap is messing with my senses."

"Babe," Ranger said with a wolfish grin.

"Stay back, Batman," I warned as I opened the door. "I'm a woman very close to the edge and I can't be responsible for myself."

I could hear Ranger's laughter as I made my way down the hall on my way back to the elevators. I made a last minute decision and took the stairs. I thought that it might be a wise idea to burn off some of my excess energy. Since I was in my RangeMan uniform, I ran down the stairs to the garage. I hit the door to the garage and ran around a cluster of Broncos a few times before I headed back towards the door to the stairs. My cell rang when I hit the door and I pulled it out as I started heading back up.

"Evey," I answered once I got my phone to my head after I checked the I.D.

"Hal was wondering why you were running around the Broncos," Cal asked.

"I needed to calm down," I said as I ran up the stairs.

"So you are running?" Cal asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, V,"

"Okay," he said in a not quite for sure tone before he hung up.

Ten minutes later, I spotted Bobby standing on the landing on the fifth floor. He handed me a bottle of water with a smile as I passed by and then went back to work. I kept running for another twenty minutes. I felt like I had gotten control of my hormones and I thought that I would be all right to get back to work.

I sat down at my desk and pulled my phone out when it started ringing again. The caller I.D. said unknown. I usually don't answer those calls, but my gut told me to answer this one.

"Hello," I said once I got my phone to my ear.


	11. Ares

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: Thanks, Babe._

* * *

"Brookwood," the male voice said on the other end before the line went dead.

I was up and running out of my office before I had pressed the end button on my phone. Brookwood was about halfway between Trenton and Deal on 195. It was a meeting place for Ares and me if shit hit the fan. I used the speed dial on my phone as I ran down the stairs towards the garage.

"What's up?" Bobby said when he answered his cell.

"Ares just made contact," I said as I hit the garage door. "I have to meet up with him. Tell control to monitor my GPS."

"Got it," Bobby said. "Be safe."

"I'll call you when I can," I said as I jumped into my Bronco.

"Love you."

"Love you, too," I said and then closed my phone.

I peeled out of the garage and shot out into traffic on Haywood. Within minutes, I was on 195 heading out of town. I had gotten my heart rate calmed down some as I fought my way through traffic. Something had to have really gone wrong for Ares to go to Brookwood. There was a little motel just off the freeway that was designated as our rendezvous point.

I kept one eye on the road and the other eye on my rear view mirror. I wasn't looking for any black Broncos. I was looking for any other suspicious vehicles. Bobby would keep the guys back for me. This was Family business. It had nothing to do with RangeMan and I didn't need their help at the moment. My first priority was making sure that Ares was all right.

I pulled into the parking lot of the motel and waited. I heard that back cargo door open and then quietly close. Without waiting, I eased back out of the parking lot and got back out on 195 heading back to Trenton. My heart rate finally slowed to its normal rate as I sped down the freeway. The silence from the back of the cargo area didn't bother me. I could hear Ares' even breathing and that was enough for the moment. I knew that he would tell me everything once I got him to a safe place.

I finally grabbed my phone and called Bobby when we got to Trenton's city limits. I knew that he would be worried and I had to make sure that it would be okay to take Ares back to the apartment.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked when he answered.

"I'm heading back to the apartment," I said slowly. "I need two favors."

"Sure."

"Tank was suppose to leave a schedule on my desk for the next week while you guys are gone," I said as I drove towards the apartment. "Can you grab it and bring it home with you?"

"I think that I can do that," Bobby said. "What else?"

"Can you pick up dinner for four?" I asked, hoping that he would get my meaning. I wanted permission to take Ares to our place without actually saying it.

"Consider it done," he said after he was silent for a long moment.

"Thank you," I whispered and then closed my phone.

I pulled into the underground parking to the apartment building and parked near the elevator. I jumped out quickly and rounded the Bronco. My stomach flipped over when I opened the back door. Ares was covered in blood and unconscious. I fished my phone back out and called Ram. I knew that he was upstairs since it was his day off.

"Hey, Bomber," Ram said when he answered.

"I need help," I said as I felt my chest start to tighten up in panic. "I'm in the garage."

"I'm on my way," Ram said and then disconnected.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket as I bent over to look more closely at Ares. Both of his eyes were black and almost completely swollen shut. There was a large, deep cut that ran down the right side of his face. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a knife did that. I gingerly turned his face to the side and saw blood coming out of his left ear. That's not a good sign. I was taking in the sight of his blood stained t-shirt and jeans when I heard the elevator ping open.

"Steph!" Ram shouted as he ran out of the elevator.

"I need to get Ares up to my apartment," I said when I opened the door the rest of the way.

Ram froze when he saw Ares lying in the cargo area. He looked over at me with raised eye brows and said, "That's one of Ramos's men."

"I know, Ram," I hissed. "Are you going to help me, or not?"

"You have a lot of explaining to do later," Ram said as he stepped up to the back of my Bronco.

Without another word spoken between us, Ram picked up Ares and got him up to my apartment. I got Ram to lay Ares down on my bed as I went into Bobby's bedroom and grabbed his medic bag out of the closet. I walked into my room and found Ram taking Ares' clothes off.

"This is a Family thing, Ram," I said as I sat the bag next to the bed. "You don't have to help if this is going to make you uncomfortable."

"You are my family, Steph," Ram said quietly as he got Ares' boots off. "I'll always help you. That's what family is for."

I took Ram at his word that he was okay to do this. I went into my bathroom and grabbed a stack of hand towels. I soaked a couple of them in warm water and then brought them into my room. I gave Ram one of the wet ones and we got to work getting him cleaned up.

His injuries weren't as bad as I thought they were. He had a couple of defensive wounds on his hands from a knife to go along with the one on his cheek. Ram said that the blood from his ear was probably just a busted ear drum, that more then likely it was the result of a blow to his head as he pointed out the bruise that was starting to form. It sounded pretty serious to me, but Ram had said that it wasn't all that bad. He said that Ares' ear would be fine in a few weeks.

"Why isn't he waking up?" I asked once we were finished cleaning and bandaging Ares up.

"I don't know," Ram said as he slid an arm around my waist. "I'll call Bobby and ask him to hurry up."

I nodded, but I just kept staring at the man that was lying unconscious in my bed. I felt Ram release me and I heard him leave my room. I started getting everything cleaned up. I always manage to make a mess when I play medic. I didn't think that Bobby would appreciate the state of disarray that his bag was in. I tossed the bloody hand towels in the trash in my bathroom and set myself in clean up mode.

I was just finishing up putting Bobby's bag back together when he walked into my room. I looked up at him and gave him a watery smile. I had been sitting on the floor wondering what had happened to Ares. He was a physically strong person and I couldn't fathom what type of person it would have taken to bring Ares to his knees.

"It's okay," Bobby said as he knelt down beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

"This isn't what you signed up for," I said after a moment of enjoying the warmth that was surrounding me. "I shouldn't have brought him here."

"You did the right thing," Bobby said as he leaned back and cupped my face with his hands. "I signed up for the chance at a life with the woman that I love. I'm not afraid to walk into the part of your life that involves the Family. It's a part of you and I'm here if this is where you want me to be."

I was thrown off by his words. I searched his eyes for a moment and saw only the truth. Every word that he had just said was exactly how he felt. He was on my side, and my heart soared. I threw my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him into a scorching kiss. I held nothing back in the kiss and showed him everything that I felt. I wanted him to feel all of the love that I had inside for him.

I broke the kiss when I heard a shifting sound come from the bed behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ares raise his hand and rub his face. I turned back to Bobby and gave him a light kiss on the lips as I pushed his hair back off of his forehead. I always manage to mess it up when he kisses me senseless.

"Sky?"

"I'm here Ares," I said as I stood up and moved to the head of the bed. I sat down next to him and leaned over his head. "I brought you back to my apartment. Bobby's here. I want him to take a look at you."

"Okay," Ares whispered. He grabbed my hand as I started to shift and I froze as I looked back down at him. His eyes locked with mine as he whispered, "Deacon is dead."

That was all that I needed to hear. I would never have to question what had happened to Ares. I already knew. Those three words told me everything. The war that I knew was coming, finally had. And it had come here, to New Jersey.

I moved out of the way as Bobby approached the bed. I watched as he accessed all of Ares' wounds. He took his time, making sure that he was being as gentle as he could, but still being thorough. He grabbed his bag and started riffling through it.

"There's a brown paper bag in the fridge," Bobby said as he looked at me over his shoulder. "Can you grab it for me."

I silently turned around and left my room. I found said bag in the back of the fridge on the bottom shelf. I opened the bag and pulled out one of the little bottles as I walked down the hall towards my room. Morphine. May not be a bad idea. It looked like some of the bruises on his ribs might be a little painful. I dropped the bottle back into the bag and handed it to Bobby when I got back into the room.

"…hurt to breath?" Bobby was asking.

"Yeah," Ares whispered.

"I'm going to give you a small shot of morphine for the pain," Bobby said as he pulled a syringe out of his medic bag and grabbed one of the little bottles out of the bag I had given him.

I moved away from the bed and sat on the couch under my window. I silently watched as Bobby gave Ares the injection and then set to work on the deep cut that ran across Ares' right cheek. Once I caught sight of the needle and thread that Bobby was going to use, I got up and walked out of the room. That was one thing that I just couldn't watch. I knew that Bobby would take care of Ares for me. I had two phone calls to make.

I held up my hand to ward off Binkie and Ram as I passed them in the living room as I headed to the door, shutting the door to the apartment as I pulled my cell phone out. I flipped my phone open as I paced the hall between our apartment and Ram and Lester's. I got into the phone book and called the first number that was listed. Putting the phone to my ear, I waited as it rang.

"I need you," I said when the other end picked up. "Now."

"I'll call you back in ten," the slightly familiar male voice on the other end said before he disconnected.

I pulled my phone back down and called another number. I stood in front of the elevator and chewed on my thumbnail as I waited for the line to pick up.

"Hey," Angelo said once he picked up.

"I have Ares," I said calmly, even though every sense in my body was screaming. "He's hurt, but Bobby's fixing him up as we speak. Deacon is dead."

"Are you sure that he's dead?" He asked.

"That's what Ares told me," I said as I started pacing again. "I told you that this was going to happen."

"I know," Ares said on a sigh. "Are you coming home?"

"I am home, Angelo," I said, trying to keep my voice in check. I would have two guys in the hall with me if I started shouting. Not what I needed at the moment. "I can't leave Trenton right now. I'll keep Ares with me for the meantime."

"I can't protect you and Alexander if you aren't here," he hissed. He wasn't about to keep his emotions under control. "You need to be here."

"I can take care of myself," I hissed quietly as I moved further down the hall away from the apartment. "If you haven't noticed, I've been doing that for awhile."

"This isn't another God damn job, Skylla!" Angelo shouted into the phone. "I want you here now!"

"No," I shouted back. "I've already called for back up."

I turned to look back down the hall when I heard my apartment door open. Ram was standing in front of the door with his gun drawn. I waved him back into the apartment, but he didn't move. I gave up on the privacy and went back to my phone call.

"I'll be fine," I said through gritted teeth.

"Who did you call?" Angelo asked after he was silent for a moment.

"You already know who I called," I said as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Tell me you're joking! Tell me that you didn't call who I think you called! The guy is a lose cannon!" Angelo errupted over the phone.

"I can handle him just fine," I said, quietly hoping that I actually could.

I had only met the man in question twice, and I knew that he was capable for doing seriously bad stuff without batting an eye. The last time I had seen him, I had saved his life by taking out a security guard that had come out of nowhere when we did a job together. If I hadn't been in my position, the guard would have gotten the drop on him and killed him. He had been different that night when we met up at the appointed location. The hard, cruel person that I had spoken to earlier that afternoon was gone. Standing in his place was someone else. The man under the mask. He had taken me in his arms gently and said, "I am forever in you debt. Call me if you need me for anything, anytime, no matter what the job."

"What does Bobby have to say about this?" Angelo asked once he got himself calmed down. The sound of his voice had startled me out of my thoughts.

"That's a low blow, Angelo. I don't need to ask Bobby for permission to do something," I said as I leaned against one of the walls in the hall and sunk down to the ground. "He has to go out of town. I'm going to need some help, and you need to stay there with Alexander with every man that you have. They're coming."

"That's why I want you here. Why won't you let me protect you here at the compound?" Angelo asked, sounding slightly hurt.

"I won't hide. You know that. Plus, Tank needs me here more then you need me there," I said as I brought my knees up to my chest and laid my head on top of them. "I'll be fine."

"You'll come here if you think that you can't do it on your own?" he said after he thought about the situation for a moment.

"Of course."

"Be safe," Angelo said before he hung up.

I closed my phone and looked at Ram who was still standing down the hall. Looks like I needed to have another conversation about Moscow. Before I got the chance to get up off of the floor, my cell phone rang. I looked down at the caller I.D. and felt wary. It was too late to second guess my decision to call in my favor. I opened the phone and stuck it to my ear.

"I'll land at JFK tomorrow morning at nine," the male voice said on the other end.

"I'll be there," I said and then closed my phone.

"Who was that?" Ram asked as he walked over.

I looked at the large man that stood beside me. He was a friend and I wasn't sure just how far he would be willing to go for me. I took a deep breath and let it out as I rotated my neck, trying to ease the tension that was building up there. The war was coming, and I had chosen to call in a favor that could end up backfiring on me.

I stood up and locked eyes with Ram as I said, "Achilles."


	12. Achilles and the Rocket Launcher

Disclaimer: JE owns the character.

* * *

I hate JFK airport. It's always busy and New Yorkers are always slightly more rude that us Jersey people. I leaned against my Bronco just outside the doors that led to baggage claim. A security guard had tried to get me to move, but I simply shifted my weight and exposed my Glock. He had very quickly turned tail and fled to the other end of the walk way. This was my spot for the next ten minutes and I didn't need some wanna-be-cop trying to get in my way.

It was nine on a Thursday morning. I watched as people were dropped at the curb with a kiss and a 'have a safe flight'. It brought me back to seven o'clock this morning when I had dropped all of the guys off at the Newark airport. That's exactly what I had done with Bobby. I missed him already.

I felt the air around me shift and I looked up at the sliding doors as he walked out. Achilles is a devastatingly handsome man when he gives you a very rare smile. The plains on his normally hard face soften and two dimples appear. His full lips part to reveal a set of brilliantly white teeth that belong on a Colgate commercial. Small lines crease at the corners of his dark brown eyes, eyes that soften slightly when they fall on me. This morning was one of those mornings that had me momentarily rethinking my relationship with Bobby. I smiled at him as he stopped in front of me. He dropped his bag to the ground and threw his arms around me in a death grip hug.

"I'm so glad to see you," he whispered in my ear. "I never thought that you would call."

"I need your help," I whispered back.

He released me after a moment and opened the back passenger door. I moved around the front of the Bronco and scanned the area. I found that, at the moment, large over populated areas made me nervous. I climbed in behind the wheel and started up the Bronco as he jumped in next to me.

"There's hardware under your seat," I said as I pulled out in traffic.

The down side to flying regular commuter planes is that you have to leave your own guns on your home turf. The upside to being on the East coast is that you can get your hands on just about any weapon at any time of the day. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he pulled off his black pea coat and revealed a tight black t-shirt that hugged his ripped torso. He was going to fit in great with the guys.

"You wanna fill me in on what's going on?" Achilles asked after he got himself loaded up.

"You already know," I said as I checked my rearview mirrors. "Moscow."

I knew that just saying that one word would have been enough for him to understand just what he was walking into. I quickly glanced over at him. He was rubbing his forehead and frowning.

"I can take you back to the airport," I said quietly. "Or, you can choose sides right now and help me."

"I've already chosen sides, Skylla," he said after a moment of silence. "That's why I'm here."

I settled back in my seat and felt relieved for the first time since I had made the phone call from the hall outside my apartment yesterday. We lapsed into silence as I maneuvered us through traffic along the freeway. We both kept glancing in the rearview mirrors out of habit.

"Black Lexus," Achilles said, breaking the silence. "Four cars back in the number one lane."

"I got it," I said as he moved between the seats and got into the back. "There's something better then your gun in the cargo area."

I watched him through the rear view mirror as he riffled through the back. I hit the automatic windows and rolled down the back two for him.

"Thanks," he said as he got into position. "Just slow down slightly. He's trapped in traffic and he'll have to at least pull up next to us to keep the flow of traffic going."

"I'm on it," I said as I slowed the Bronco. "Try not to get my Bronco damaged."

He handed a little baggy over the seat to me and I grabbed it as I winked at him through the mirror. I saw him smile and shake his head as he opened his own baggy and shoved the ear plugs in. I put my ear plugs in and sent a quick prayer to God, hoping for the best. I kept sight of the Lexus as it started coming up along side of us. The gleam from their guns flashed across my mirror when they lowered their windows and took aim.

"Now," I shouted, hoping that I was loud enough for him to hear me.

There was a loud whoosh followed by an even louder boom. The shock wave from the exploding car next to us caused me to veer out of my lane and come dangerously close to clipping a mini-van full of kids that was right in front of us. I rolled up the windows once I got the Bronco under control. Achilles climbed back into the front next to me and lightly touched my shoulder. I looked over at him and he tilted his head back and laughed. I tensed when all I heard was silence. He reached over when he caught my frightened look and removed my ear plugs.

"Better?" he asked still chuckling.

"That's not funny," I laughed as I reached out and punched his arm.

"Nice toy," he said as he pointed back at the rocket launcher that was lying on the back seat.

"Tank thought that I should be prepared for anything," I said as I stuck my tongue out at him. "He didn't like the idea of me picking you up alone."

"Why's that?" he asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

"You are who you are," I said with a shrug. Then I looked over at him and gave him a large grin and added with a brow wiggle, "Plus, you're a man."

"Don't tease me, Honey," he groused as he looked back down the freeway behind us. "I imagine that we may have ruined a few peoples days."

"I'm sure that they'll get over it," I said as I checked my mirrors again. "See any other tails?"

"Not at the moment. But you know how quickly that can change," he said as he leaned over and bumped my shoulder. He reached up and caressed the side of my face with the back of his hands as he said, "God, I've really missed you."

I kept my eyes on the road as I turned my head and kissed his hand. We fell back into silence as we reached Elizabeth and jumped on 95 heading south. Achilles kept himself turned around so that he could watch our backs as I scanned the road ahead. He brought his right hand across both of my collar bones and rested it on my left shoulder as he leaned the right side of his head against the right side of mine.

I got the feeling that he had never aloud himself this kind of contact with another person. If only it had been another time, I thought to myself as I reached up and placed my hand over his on my shoulder. I felt him soften against me as I ran my thumb over his knuckles.

I had a soft spot in my heart for the hard man that sat next to me. How could I not? He was just like Ranger and the rest of the guys in so many ways. The outside was always closed off and harsh because of all of the things that he had seen and done. The first job that I had done with him was to take out a group of five men in Athens. I had picked off the first two from my position across the street on a roof top. I sat back and watched him go in and take out the other three in ten seconds flat.

Watching Achilles work had definitely been a learning experience. There was a cold calculation to his work that had left me feeling hollow. I hadn't looked forward to working with him again. But, Alexander had said that Achilles had requested me specifically. That had been enough to pique my interest and drive me to jump on the plane to go to Hamburg.

Hamburg was suppose to be a simple slip in and assassinate. Sure, he had to get passed about twelve guards that circulated the perimeter and a security system. But that wasn't out of the norm for us as far as jobs went. He had gotten me inside the compound and situated me on top of a building. I laid on the roof top with a long, black cloth draped over me to help me blend in with the rest of the roof.

I watched him maneuver through the scope on the gun that he had given me to use. I kept slightly ahead of him and warned him of things to come. He never said a word the whole time as I talked him through all of the steps that he took. I had pulled my head back to wipe the sweat from around my eye when I had caught sight of the guard that had rounded the corner. According to my watch, the guard was circulating early. Without another thought, I whispered for Achilles to stop and I fired one bullet. I watched the man fall through my sight and then swung back to Achilles. He was looking right at me and I felt the air around me shift. Just like it had outside the airport today. Just like it had the next time that I saw him later that night. It was our connection.

"I hate the States," Achilles said quietly in my ear, bringing me out of my thought.

"So do I sometimes," I said quietly back.

"You should come with me to Paris once this is all over," he whispered, his lips brushing across my cheek.

"I can't and you know that," I said as we entered Trenton's city limits.

"Bobby," he whispered as he released me and moved away.

"I belong with him," I said, trying to explain. "He gets me."

"And I don't?" Achilles said as he glared over at me. "Do you think that I am incapable of loving someone?"

"Don't do this Achilles," I warned. "You can't just drop in and expect everything to change to suit you. It doesn't work that way."

Our conversation was interrupted by my phone ringing. I fished it out of my pocket and opened it as I put it to my head.

"You really shouldn't use a rocket launcher on the freeway."

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I smiled into the phone.

"I've been better," Ares said, I could hear a smile in his voice. "Your little thing on the freeway is all over CNN."

"We made CNN," I said as I smiled over at Achilles. He didn't look too impressed. I turned back to the road as we turned onto Haywood. "How you liking the new digs?"

"Too much brown," he said with a chuckle.

"Don't let Ella hear you say that," I laughed. "She may start feeding you rabbit food."

"Mum's the word. I love her cooking. She promised me spaghetti for lunch."

"I'm so crashing your lunch. We are pulling in now. I'll be up in a minute," I said before I lowered my phone and closed it as we pulled into the garage.

"So this is RangeMan?" Achilles said as he got out of the Bronco.

"Yep," I said, jumped out and inspected the side of my Bronco as I shoved my phone back in my pocket.

There were scorch marks along the back end from the flames of the other vehicle. The bullet proof glass that I had installed while I was living with Alexander seemed to have with stood one of the biggest tests that I have put them through. There were a couple of dings from flying debris, but all in all, nothing that I couldn't get Al to fix.

"Not too bad," Achilles said as he came up beside me.

"Could have been a lot worse," I agreed.

"Bomber!" Ram shouted as he ran out of the stair well.

I walked around the back of my Bronco and was immediately engulfed in a bear hug. I wrapped my arms around Ram's neck as he lifted me off the ground. He pulled back and gave me a loud kiss on the lips. It was meant to be fun and playful, just like Ram. But I heard Achilles growl behind me, so I patted Ram on the back and he lowered me back to the ground.

"Ram," I said as I backed up and pointed over my shoulder. "This is Achilles."

The two men just nodded at each other. I rolled my eyes so far that I thought I caught a glimpse of my brain. Leave it to men to have turf issues even when they are on the same side. I grabbed Achilles' bag out of the back of the Bronco and threw it at him before I headed towards the elevator. The ride up to the fourth floor was silent, but that was to be expected. I had placed myself between the two men, hoping that neither would feel the need to do anything stupid.

I pushed Achilles out of the elevator and shook my head 'no' at Ram when he made a move to get off. I hit the button to the fifth floor before I exited and watched the doors close on a very pissed off Ram. I had several things to do and I didn't have time to keep an constant eye on Ram, who was now my self appointed protector.

I pushed Achilles into the apartment on the left and told him to chill for about an hour. He flopped down on the couch as he grabbed the remote and gave me a dismissive wave. I walked across the hall to the other apartment to check up on Ares.

"Who are you feeling?" I asked as I walked into the bedroom.

"Tired from everyone asking how I am feeling," Ares said as he turned from the TV and looked at me. "You didn't have to call in your favor. You know that, right?"

"I need him," I said as I sat down in the chair that sat in the corner of his room. "I can't go to the compound until Bobby and the guys get back. Tank needs me here. I can hold up in here for a week until the guys get back. Once they do…"

"You know that they came here for you, don't you?" Ares asked as he sat further up in the bed. "They want your head on a silver platter for what happened to Mishca."

"I'm not stupid," I said as I glared over at him.

"You sit there and say that you aren't stupid after you said that you called Achilles because you need him. I'd have to say that you are stupid if you think that just because you saved his life, he'll be only on your side," Ares hissed. He lifted his arm and pointed in the direction of Achilles and said, "That man will be the death of you if you keep him around."

"You've got it all wrong," I shouted as I jumped up out of the chair. "He won't betray me like that. He's not playing both sides on this one."

I turned away from Ares and started walking towards the door. I didn't need him second guessing my every move. It was my choice to call Achilles. I was almost to the door when Ares spoke.

"He's like a tornado," Ares said quietly. "You won't be able to stop him once he gets started. No one can control him. I hope that you don't get caught in his path, Skylla. Because not even you can survive him."


	13. Going Back

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: Thanks, Babe._

* * *

_January 8th, 9:42 A.M._

I felt the air around me shift, but I ignored it. It had been something that I had become use to over the last five days. I was in the process of clearing my schedule for the next two weeks, and I didn't have time for round twenty over when Achilles got to use the gym. It had been a constant battle between us and, frankly, it was getting rather old.

It had been decided after his first trip, that he had to be accompanied by me, and that he could only go in the afternoon. What did he expect when he took sparring to a whole new level with Hal. I had surprised everyone when I had gotten Achilles to back off of Hal with simply speaking his name. My voice had been light and full of shock because of the sight of Achilles going after one of my friends. But, Achilles had heard it over all of the shouting. My voice alone had been enough to penetrate his zone. He had dropped his hands from around Hal's neck and turned to look at me. You could have heard a pin drop as he climbed out of the ring and walked over to me. I raised my hand in Tank's direction when I heard the safety being released on his gun. I knew that he would be okay as long as I could get him back up to the fourth floor.

Since that morning, Achilles has been restricted to the fourth floor. If he went anywhere else in the building, he had to be escorted and he absolutely hated it. I had even told Ella to stay off the fourth floor until I got him out of here. He was the tornado that Ares had tried to warn me about. I just had to hope that I had made the right decision where Achilles was concerned. His moral code was pretty much non-existent, so I knew that he would do anything and everything to help me once we got back to Deal.

"What?" I finally asked as I turned and looked over at Achilles.

"We need to leave," Achilles said quietly from his spot on the couch on the other side of the room. "I just received a call from a friend. He's been hearing things."

"What sort of things?" I asked as I leaned back in my chair and swiveled to face him completely.

"They are going to hit Alexander since you have held up in here for so long."

"Shit," I said as I stood up and started shutting my computer down. "Get Ares and meet me down in the garage."

"Are you sure?" Achilles said as he stood up.

"It doesn't look like I have a choice," I said as I looked up at him. His dark brown eyes had gone black. It was the only sign of emotion on his face. He had told me the other night that he wasn't as optimistic as I was. He was afraid that he wasn't going to be enough to help me. "Just grab Ares, please."

Without another word, Achilles turned and disappeared out my office door. I grabbed the phone that sat on my desk and dialed Tank. I had to at least let him know that I couldn't wait any longer for the guys to get back. I had gotten a call from Bobby last night saying that they were trying to get back home, but they were having issues getting flights home.

"Tank," he said when he answered the phone.

"I have to leave now," I said as I started shoving things into my purse. "I didn't have a chance to completely clear my schedule."

"I'll take care of it."

"Thanks. Tell Bobby that I'm sorry that I couldn't wait for him," I said as I unlocked and opened the bottom drawer to the long filing cabinet that sat behind my desk. "I'm loading up and taking off with Ares and Achilles. I'm sorry if Achilles caused a lot of problems."

"Hal's fine," Tank reassured.

"Give Love Muffin a kiss for me," I said as I smiled into the phone.

"Sure thing, Sugar Pie," Tank said right before he hung up.

I placed the handset in the cradle and grabbed the two cases that I had pulled out of the filing cabinet. I stopped at the door that led to Trip's office and threw my keys at him. He caught then as they sailed through the air without looking up.

"Be careful," Trip said as he went back to typing on his computer.

"I will," I said before I slipped out of the doorway.

I wasn't all that surprised to see Cal standing in the elevator as the doors opened. He had a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder that looked like it could hold a Merry Man inside. He smiled down at me as I climbed on the elevator. The ride to the garage was done in complete silence. We exited the elevator and walked over to my Bronco. Ares was lounging in the back seat and Achilles had taken over the driver's seat. I opened the back door and dropped my two cases next to the three duffle bags that had already been placed in the cargo area.

"Tank asked me to give this to you," Cal said as he handed me the duffle bag that he had been carrying.

I took the bag and sat it next the two cases. Cal slid an arm around my shoulders as he shut the door for me. I looked up at him and gave him a smile. I really hoped that it wasn't going to be the last time that I saw him. He was a great friend. He was my 'V'. There were few people in my life that meant more to me then Cal did.

The silence stretched out as we stood looking into each other's eyes. The connection that we had was strong enough that neither one of us had to say a word. We both knew how much the other loved them. They were words that we never had to say. It was a simple understanding that we had reached with each other long ago.

I tipped up on my toes and kissed Cal lightly on the lips. It was a kiss of friendship and the love that went along with it. He smiled down at me as I lowered myself back down. I smiled back at him as I walked over to the passenger side door. I opened it up and said, "Bye, V."

I climbed into the Bronco and shut the door, not giving Cal the chance to say anything else. I didn't want to hear him say 'goodbye'. It may have been selfish to take that from him. I'll be the first to admit that. But, I don't think that I could have kept myself from crying if I had heard those words fall from his lips. It was a psychological thing that I have always done. In my mind, if I don't get to hear someone say 'goodbye', then I have to make it back. It never made sense to Alexander, but I never let him say 'goodbye' before I left. I often snuck out of the compound in the early hours of the morning to fly out so that I wouldn't have to see him as I left.

"Why did you call him V?" Ares asked from the back seat.

"It's from the movie 'V for Vendetta'," I said quietly as I looked out the window. "He's my V."

"And you are his Evey?" Ares asked.

"Yeah."

"That doesn't make sense," Ares huffed from the back seat. "Bobby should be your V."

"Evey and V never got the chance to be together," I pointed out from the front seat as I turned around. "I love Cal. But, I'll never be able to be with him."

"Why not?" Achilles asked, breaking his silence.

"Because we aren't meant to be," I said as I turned back to look out the window, hoping to drop the subject.

"How can you not be with someone that you love?" Ares asked, still not understanding the relationship that I had with Cal.

"Cal has monsters in him. Those monsters hold him back from ever being able to love someone unconditionally," I said quietly as I thought about a conversation that I had had with Cal one late night almost a year ago. "Sometimes, people suffer through a pain that they can never fully heal from."

We all fell into silence as we drove out of Trenton. I made a silent prayer that it wouldn't be the last time that I saw the town that I loved so much. I let the silence in the Bronco flow through me and sooth my nerves. I had wound myself up with thoughts of never returning and those thoughts needed to find a way out of my mind so that I could focus on the danger that we were heading towards.

I climbed into the back with Ares and leaned over the back of the seat to check out the duffle bag that Cal had given me. I opened the top and stared at the small arsenal that was in the bag. Plenty of guns and ammo to arm a small militia. Tank was a good man, I thought as I smiled down at the bag.

"What?" Ares asked.

"Looks like Tank thought that we might need some extra fire power," I said as I zipped up the bag.

A flash from the rear of the vehicle caught my eye. I moved one of the duffle bags and saw that Tank had also left me two rocket launchers. Loaded and ready for use. God bless that man. He really knew what I needed for this.

I flopped back down on the seat next to Ares and mentally cracked my knuckles. I was starting to feel a little better about all of this. We had adequate fire power. We had four sharp shooters, plus Angelo's men. We had the compound, which wasn't easily penetrable. We may just be able to pull off the plan that was forming in my mind.

We pulled up to the gates of the compound, and I climbed over Ares to jump out and open the gate. He stopped me and pulled a Kevlar vest over my head before he opened the door and pushed me out. I got my code punched into the keypad and watched the gate slowly roll open. I turned and scanned the street as I waved Achilles through the gates. He slowly inched forward as I walked backwards passed the gates. He passed me as I stopped to watch the gates close.

"You finally came to your senses?" Angelo asked as he strolled up beside me.

"No. Achilles got tipped off that some shit was going to hit the fan out here," I said as I scanned the trees across the street through the gate. "Did you know that you have three shooters across the street?"

"We're up to three now?" he said as he looked through the gate. "We only had one yesterday."

"What are they waiting for?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"Beats me," he said with a shrug as he threw an arm around my shoulder.

We stood there in silence as we scanned the trees. I had always found peace within the walls of the compound. But, today, my spidey senses were going off like Big Ben alerting everyone that it was twelve. I slipped my arms around Angelo's waist and steered him over towards my Bronco. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Achilles.

"You shouldn't have brought him with you," he said quietly in my ear.

"He can take care of our peeping toms across the street in two minutes," I said as I locked eyes with Achilles across the courtyard.

Our silent communication took only seconds. He quickly got into the back of the Bronco and then disappeared around the side of Alexander's Deal mansion. I pulled Angelo over to my Bronco after Achilles disappeared and pulled the back door back open. I handed him the care package from Tank and handed the three duffle bags over to one of his henchmen that magically stood at my side. The henchman took the bags and disappeared into the house as I pulled out my two cases. I caught Angelo smirking at the rocket launcher.

"I heard about the freeway last week," he commented as he reached out and grabbed the launchers.

"That was courtesy of Achilles," I smirked when his face fell at the mention of Achilles' name. "Tank simply provides the weapons."

"I need to meet this Tank," Angelo said as he looked down at the launchers that he had under his arm.

"I want you to round up your crew for a meeting at two," I said as I closed up the back of my Bronco.

"I can do that," he said and then headed towards the house.

I heard the trees shift over by the side wall and watched Achilles slip out of them. He locked eyes with me and walked towards me slowly. His eyes were hard and cold. But, the closer that he got, the softer they became. By the time that he reached me, they were pools of melted chocolate. He reached his hand up and caressed my cheek with the knuckles of his right hand.

I didn't have to ask to know that he had taken care of what I had needed him to do. It wasn't until I was laying in my old room later that night that I realized that I did have ESP. It was just that I needed to have a special connection to that person in order to have it. Maybe that was Ranger's key the whole time. After all, he had spent so many years with the Merry Men, it was bound to form some sort of tight bond.

All of the plans were set in place. All we had to do was sit and wait for them to strike. I was never all that great at waiting. But, I would be all right with waiting for this to finally be over. They would never know what hit them until it was too late for them to get out.


	14. The Battle Begins

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

* * *

"This is insane," the voice said in my ear over the com system that Ares had set up. 

"No. It's not," I said into the open mic.

"We're just going to sit here and wait?" The voice hissed into my ear. Evidently he didn't like waiting.

"They'll come," I said. "Just chillax."

"What?"

"Chill out. Relax," I explained as I rolled my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me when I need a definition of a word that doesn't exist," he said, amusement clear in his voice.

Silence once again descended over the com system as I scanned the trees in front of me from my post on top of one of the storage building towards the back of the compound. I was thankful for the peace. Ares and Achilles had been at each other's throats all day. I decided to pick my post and climbed up to the roof just to get away from their bickering. About an hour later, Achilles had decided to get up on the roof of the house. An hour after that, Ares had thrown me the ear piece and mic so that we could communicate with each other before he took his post on the other edge of the compound. It was going to be a long night if they started up again.

The consensus of the group was that they would hit the compound at night. That was fine with me since I had just gotten a new pair of night vision glasses a few weeks ago and hadn't gotten the chance to put them to use. I was laying across the roof, peering through the goggles, when I heard the trees about thirty feet from me start to move.

"Here we go," I whispered to the other two at their posts.

I waited for a few seconds as the trees stopped moving. Man! What I wouldn't give for some infrared goggles. Something to order after this is done. I was about to move and reposition myself when the trees started to move again. I adjusted my goggles and looked through the sight on my Czech 700M1. I was just about to pull the trigger as a dark figure stepped out of the trees when I heard the familiar popping sound of my Yugoslav M-76.

"Show off," I said into my mic as I watched the dark form fall to the ground.

"Just trying to be helpful," Achilles said into my ear.

"I could have gotten him," I whispered as I scanned the trees for any other movement.

"Sure you could have," Achilles laughed. "Exactly how far out of the trees did you need him to get?"

"Do you regret bringing him yet?" Ares chimed in, a bit on the sarcastic side.

"Very much," I said flatly.

"You know that you love me," Achilles whispered. He had dropped the tone of his voice to make it sound as if he were hinting at more than just being playful.

"She'd have to be insane to fall for that voice," Ares said.

"What? You think you can do better?" Achilles challenged.

"In a heartbeat," Ares said. I could hear the smile in his voice and knew that it was devilish. "She'd be putty in my hands."

"What are you waiting for?" Achilles asked.

"Gentlemen," I said, finally breaking my silence before they got in too deep with their macho bullshit. "That's enough."

Silence once again flowed through the com system. I resumed scanning the trees and was thankful when I heard Angelo climb the ladder behind me. He threw a blanket over me and dropped a thermos on the roof next to me along with a travel mug already full. I tore my eyes away from the trees and smiled up at him then I heard him shake a bag next to my head.

"I'll take watch while you eat," he whispered as he laid down next to me.

I handed over my night vision goggles and along with my gun as I grabbed the bag from him. I opened the bag and moaned softly as the smell of homemade doughnuts floated out of the bag. It was a rare treat for Alexander's cook to make me doughnuts. He's even been able to perfect a fantastic version of Boston Crèmes. I was in heaven as I took the first bite. I was well into my third doughnut when I heard Angelo chuckle next to me. I raised an eyebrow at him as I stopped chewing.

"Moaning," Angelo said as he smiled over at me.

"Jesus," I heard Achilles whisper in my ear. It was so faint that I almost missed it.

"Yeah," Ares said after he cleared his throat.

"Looks like she got both of you," Angelo laughed.

I simply shrugged and went back to my doughnuts. Three more doughnuts and two cups of coffee later, I was laying back down on the roof and scanning the trees. Angelo had promised to check in on me in two hours for a bathroom break. I heard a pop on the other end of the compound, by Ares, and waited for him to check in.

"Think they might be looking for an easy way in that isn't guarded," Ares whispered.

"I coming up to the roof with Achilles," Angelo said over the com system. "Try not to shoot at me."

I heard Achilles chuckle in my ear piece. He probably wouldn't have, but I was glad that Angelo had announced his plans. One never knew what Achilles would do. That was well known. The fact that Angelo was heading up to the roof was telling. More were coming and he wanted to make sure that we didn't get overwhelmed. I dropped into my zone and scanned the trees for movement. My zone was a great little trick that Angelo had taught me. I just took even slow breaths and mentally blocked out everything in my mind except what was going on at the moment. Two hours flash by like a blink of an eye.

"Gabriel is coming around to do bathroom breaks," Angelo said, breaking my zone, just as I heard the ladder behind me creak with the weight of a large man.

I looked over my shoulder and nodded at Gabriel as he came up the ladder and crawled onto the roof. He took my goggles and gun as he situated himself on the roof next to me. I patted his shoulder before I slid back towards the ladder. I got down the ladder and ran to the house. Alexander was standing at the door holding it open for me.

"How are you holding up?" Alexander asked as he closed the door.

"I'd be a lot better if you were wearing a vest," I called out over my shoulder as I headed towards the bathroom. "Especially if you plan on standing at the door."

I could hear him laugh as I walked down the hall towards my room. I answered mother nature's call quickly. I grabbed a hooded sweat shirt out of my duffle bag along with my H&K P30 and Glock 20. I checked the cartridges and grabbed a few full ones before I left my room and headed back out towards the kitchen.

"See what happens when you open your mouth?" Alexander said as he spun around in front of me.

"That vest that you have on could save your life Alexander," I chided as I moved past him and out the door. "That's why I'm wearing one."

I was half way across the lawn, towards my post when I heard several pops come from all directions. I immediately hit the ground and scanned the area around me. I could hear the trees moving. But I didn't have my goggles, so I couldn't see what was going on.

"Stay down," Achilles hissed.

I brought my arms up over my head as bullets started sailing through the air again. I reached back with my right hand and pulled out my Glock. I turned my head to the side and scanned the trees that were just off to my left. My left arm lit on fire as a bullet pierced the skin, breaking the bone as it sailed through. Luckily it was closer to my elbow and ended up getting lodges in my bicep. Two more bullets hit me in the back, dead center of my vest. I relaxed my body in hopes that the shooter would think that he got me. It took everything that I had not to move as I felt another bullet burn into the flesh of my right calf.

"Achilles," I whispered.

"I'm coming, Honey," he said into my ear with a flat and cold voice.

The sound of his voice had told me that he had fallen into his zone and that he would stop at nothing to get to me. That's why I had called on him for help in the first place. His single-mindedness when it came to a job was what made him a legend in his world. He would do anything that had to be done in order to finish the job.

I could hear the rapid fire of AK-47s coming from the front of the mansion. Angelo's men would fight until the end to keep people away from the house. Alexander was like a God to them. They would risk life and limb to keep him safe. That's why I had instructed them to keep to the front of the house, leaving myself, Achilles, Ares, Angelo, and now Gabriel to defend the back.

An arm came around my waist as a pair of night vision goggles were fitted on my face. I leveled my gun in my right arm and started firing at anything that moved as Achilles started backing me up towards the house. I felt Achilles' hand snake into my pocket to retrieve another magizine as I started to run low. It was like we were on the same brainwave length as I popped out the empty cartridge and he slammed another one in. We shot our way back up to the house, Achilles almost holding me completely off the ground as we moved. He rushed me up the stairs and plastered us against the wall next ot the door.

We had a good vantage point from the back patio. there was an unobstructed veiw of the whole back yard. Achilles set me down on my one good leg, but had pulled me close so that I was leaning on him for support. I felt him pull another cartridge out of my pocket to get me reloaded.

"That's the last cartridge for this gun," I said as I countinued to shoot at the back wall of the compound.

An explosion rocked the building behind us. The windows next ot us didn't explode, so I knew that it must have just been out in front of the house. I had a fleeting thought that it better not be my Bronco. I loved that damn thing. All hope was lost when Angelo's voice came over the com system.

"Sorry, Skyla."

My H&K P30 was slipped into my hand after I shot the last bullet from my Glock. Achilles was reloading his Baretta when a man barreled into us out of nowhere. I flew to the ground and rolled towards the brick railing of the patio. I saw the flash of a knife just before I was hit in the face with a spray of blood. I really hate artirial spray. I was once again hauled to my feet by Achilles and he backed us up to the house.

The yard was eerily silent. I scanned the tree line and just waited for movement to catch my eye. I leaned back into Achilles and felt his lips brush against my temple. I watched Gabriel climb down the ladder over by the storage buildings. He was shaking his head as he walked over to us.

"First wave," he said as he walked passed us and into the house.

Achilles' arm tightened around me as I heard boots being pounded into the ground. Ares came running up the steps towards us and froze when he saw that I was injured. The victory grin that he had been sporting was quickly wiped away as his anger took over. When he finally took a step forward and reached out to me, I felt Achilles go on the defense. He wasn't about to let me go. It didn't matter that Ares wanted to get me cleaned up and checked on. He was still in battle mode. I let out a sigh, knowing full well that I wouldn't recieve medical attention until this was over.

I held up my hand to Ares as I said, "Not now."

"You're bleeding," Ares hissed as he tried again to reach out for me.

"Not now," I barked.

Ares' hand dropped to his side and his eyes changed. There was hurt and pain in them. That was something that I'd have to deal with later. Right now, my main concern was keeping Achilles on track. I had heard stories of him breaking and that's not something that I wanted to be responsible for. I deposited my gun in my pocket and laid my right hand over Achilles' arm. He shook for a moment and then relaxed into my back as he laced his fingers with mine and buried his face in my hair.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"I need to get cleaned up," I whispered back.

"We've got the back," Angelo said. "Take care of her."

I was quickly lifted off the ground and I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from screaming when Achilles brushed against my left arm. He carried me into the house and back to my room. I gingerly removed my sweat shirt and vest with his help. He disappeared into the hall and I tried to work my pants off to inspect my leg. I was slightly annoyed that my favorite pair of jeans were now ruined. Not a normal reaction since I still had the bullet lodged in my left.

I looked up at Achilles as he made his way back into my room. He had several hand towels in his hand along with a black bag. He motioned me over to the bed and helped me lay down so that he could look at my leg first. My head shot up off the bed when I felt something prick my skin. A burning sensation spread around the bullet hole and I tried to wiggle away.

"Don't."

I froze at the sound of his voice. It had softened and almost broke trying to get out that one word. I tilted my head to the side to look over at him. His face was blank, but his eyes said everything. He was breaking down and it torn at my heart.

"It wasn't your fault," I whispered.

"I didn't get to you fast enough," he whispered back.

"Yes, you did."

He looked away from my face and back down to my leg as he bent over. I felt preasure and then a tugging sensation. Darkness consumed me when he leaned back and held up a bloody bullet to inspect.


	15. Achilles' Revenge

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

_A/N: I would never have been able to get this chapter out without Linda. Writer's block sucks as. Thanks a million, Babe._

* * *

I came to and found Ares sitting next to me on the bed and Alexander standing a few feet away watching me. My arm was in a sling, and my leg was bandaged. It took a minute before I was able to push past the pain and focus. 

"How are you," Ares asked quietly, his eyes were filled with concern.

"Fine. I'm okay," I whispered. I cut Ares off when he looked like he was going to argue with me.

"Achilles?" Ares got a frustrated look on his face but remained silent. I turned my head and looked at Alexander.

"Once he stitched up your leg and did what he could for your arm, he reloaded and slipped out the door before anyone could stop him."

"Fuck." I moved to roll off the bed and was pulled up short by Ares' hand on my right bicep.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Out," I hissed as I tugged my arm away and sucked in a deep breath before standing up. Pain had my vision blurring, but I shoved it back and fought to find a zone.

"You're going nowhere, little girl," Alexander said, coming to stand in front of me.

I turned to my closet and began pulling out ammo with my right hand. When Alexander reached out and placed his hand on my cheek to get my attention, some of the anger and resentment that I'd been holding inside bubbled to the surface and dripped like acid off my tongue.

"I love you. I do. But, this is your fault. If you had listened to me when I got back from Russia, this wouldn't be happening. You could have sent them Deacon's head on a platter, and they would have been satisfied with that. He would have deserved it, too. Instead, Ares was injured, almost killed; I've been shot, and now Achilles is out there on a rampage that might get him killed because I called him and asked for his help. And for what? Because Deacon was family?" I jerked my face away from Alexander and fumbled to slide my Glock in my waistband.

One-handed I slid my loaded Baretta into my boot. With my Czech 700M1 locked and loaded and slung over my shoulder, I ignored the hurt on Alexander's face and headed toward the door. Ares moved to block me, and I glared at him. After everything that's happened to him, he should be on my side.

"You should be out there helping him! He shouldn't be out there alone," I shouted, my temper no long willing to stay in check. I started to shove my way past Ares, grabbing my night vision goggles that someone had placed on the dresser next to the door. But, he grabbed my right arm and brought me into his chest.

"There's no way to know which one of them shot you, so he intends to kill every one of them himself. He said he would take down anyone who got in his way. And still, Angelo and Gabriel went out after him. Achilles said he would kill us if we let you leave this room," Ares hissed as he got into my face. "I told you there would be a price for calling him in."

"Then you better hope that I can keep him from following through on his promise, because you're not stopping me from going out there to help him." Gritting my teeth against the pain in my leg, I pushed past Ares and slid out the door into the dark hallway.

I pulled on my night vision goggles as I walked out the side door at the end of the hall, and tried to come up with a plan. There was no way I could pull off crawling on my stomach if all hell broke loose, so I decided to stick to the shadows and work my way to the roof where I could set up in a sniper position. Climbing the ladder had the pain in my thigh screaming, and I had to take slow, even breaths to fight back the nausea. When I finally reached the rooftop, I fumbled to put the earplug in and pulled the mic up to my mouth.

"Achilles?" I had no sooner whispered his name when I heard a hiss come through my earphone.

"Get inside, woman." Achilles' voice was cold as flint, and I felt a chill go through me at the fury behind those three words.

"I'm not leaving you out here by yourself." I purposely made my tone as cool and flat as I could.

"If I get my hands on you, those bullet wounds are going to be the least of your problems," Achilles said slowly, the anger in his voice was plainly evident.

I believed what I heard in his voice. For the first time since I'd met Achilles, I feared him. In my heart I knew he would never kill me, no matter what Ares might think. But, Achilles was the type of man who could inflict an awful lot of pain on someone without killing them. I've heard stories of him keeping men barely alive for days before finally killing them. His ability to block out mercy was what made him so notorious in our field. Part of his single minded nature.

"Let's worry about that later," I said quietly, trying to ignore the fear that had pooled in my gut. "What's the status?"

Complete silence was his response.

"Angelo?"

"Skyla."

"What's the status?"

"As far as we can tell, he's taken out four more since you went down. He should be at your ten o'clock about 200 yards out. Gabriel has your back, and I'm circling around toward Achilles."

"No. Stay out of his path. Work your way back to me, and help me cover him from here," I could feel his hesitation through the earpiece.

"All right, Skyla. I trust you know what you're doing."

I watched through the sight of my Czech 700M1. I tracked the scope along the tree line where Angelo had last seen Achilles. Unfortunately, with Achilles' skills, he could be anywhere by now. No sooner had the thought entered my mind when a volley of shots rang out straight in front of me. I swung the barrel of my gun back toward the sound of gunfire. I found Achilles in the scope. He was behind a tree, and there were two men attempting to circle around and come in behind him.

"Achilles, one to your left about twenty yards, another to your right at about fifteen. In about 30 seconds I should have a clear shot at number two. Don't move," I whispered before I slowly drew a breath and willed the man to Achilles' right to take just a couple more steps.

"Mine!" Achilles breathed into the mic as he spun away from the tree and opened fire on the man that had been closest to him.

I saw the spray out from Achilles' body as a bullet passed through his shoulder. I swung my gun over a few inches and tapped the trigger on my gun twice once I got the other armed man in my crosshairs. I heard Achilles hiss in my ear when he turned around and saw that I had already gotten the second man. It must have really chapped him to know that I was watching his back.

I started scanning the trees again and my eyes finally fell on Achilles. He was looking straight at me. I adjusted my scope and zoomed in closer. The fury in his eyes made my breath catch in my throat. The longer that he looked at me with that much anger in his eyes, the harder it became for me to breathe. I realized, as I looked into his eyes through the scope, that I had crossed a line that I couldn't cross back over.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment to try to reign in my emotions. This wasn't the time to break down and feel your way through this mess. I slowly opened my eyes and looked through my empty sight. Achilles had slipped away. I scanned the trees, but I came up empty handed.

"Achilles," I breathed.

The silence that flowed through my earpiece wasn't comforting to me. I blinked to clear my blurred vision, tears of pain slid down my cheeks. My whole left arm was throbbing, and I had a fleeting thought that my leg would feel a hell of a lot better if I could just saw it off. I slid away from my gun and rolled onto my back. After closing my eyes and taking several long, slow breaths, I finally felt a calmness come over me. I could hear rapid gun fire coming from the west of the compound. I knew that as long I as I could still hear his H&K firing, that he was okay.

I laid on the roof, about fifty feet from Angelo on the other side of the roof, and stared up at the stars. Just waiting. I closed myself down to block out the pain that was radiating through my body. It was while I was in my zone, that I was able to zero in on where Achilles was in the forest that surrounded the compound. Methodically weaving through the trees and picking off men from a country on the other side of the world. This was so senseless. All of it.

"We're clear," Angelo's soft voice came through my earpiece.

I rolled up into a sitting position and gathered up my Czech. I slowly made my way over to the ladder and climbed down. By the time I got down the ladder, I was feeling lightheaded from all of the deep breathing and pain that was shooting through my leg.

"Get everyone in the house," I said to Angelo as I started walking out into the courtyard.

"I'm not leaving you out here alone," Angelo said as he started walking behind me.

I pulled my Glock out on the back of my pants and fired one shot into the ground just in front of his feet without looking back. It was a warning. I looked at Angelo over my shoulder and silently communicated that the next shot would land in a body part. He growled at me before he turned around and headed back up to the house, effectively leaving me alone outside.


	16. Breaking The Zone

Disclaimer: JE owns the characters.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who stuck it out through this story.-Kate

* * *

I walked around the courtyard listening to my surroundings. I could feel the air shifting around me as he'd approach, then he'd slip away. He was taunting me. I'm sure that he felt me and knew that I'd be able to feel him. I looked over the charred remains of my Bronco and sighed. It had lasted a lot longer than some of my other vehicles. But, it bothered me even more that I had lost this particular vehicle. It just went to show that no matter what, I still am the Bombshell.

All of the air was jarred out of my lungs as I was pinned to the ground. I struggled against Achilles as his hands came over my mouth and around my neck. His eyes were vacant. His once beautiful face was contorted with anger as he brought it to an inch away from my face. I could feel all of the tension in his body as he laid on top of me.

"Achilles," I whispered as I stared up at him. "Please stop."

"You disobeyed me," he hissed as he tightened his grip around my neck.

"I was worried about you," I breathed.

"You disobeyed me!" he shouted as he jerked my neck up and then slammed my head back on the ground.

I blinked away the stars that were floating in front of my eyes. I reached out and wrapped my right arm around his waist and pulled him closer to me. Trying anything to get him to come out of his zone. I relaxed and allowed my body to fit snugly to his as I pulled him closer. I kept my eyes locked with his, looking for any sign of change.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I couldn't have protected you while I was outside of the compound!" he shouted, his warm breath heating up my face in the chilled morning air.

"You did protect me, Achilles," I said quietly. I saw something flicker in his eyes. He was losing his zone. I trailed my hand up his back and over his shoulder to cup the side of his face.

"I didn't protect you enough," he hissed.

"I'm still alive because you got to me in the back yard," I reasoned as I lightly rubbed my thumb across his cheek.

"I can't bare to lose you," he whispered as his eyes softened and cleared of all of his anger.

"I can't bare to lose you either," I whispered as his grip on my throat eased.

The tension in his body eased as I saw my words settle into his mind. His hands lowered down the side of my neck and came up into my hair. He eased us both up so that we were sitting up and he sat on the ground between my legs. His fingers lightly probed the back of my head and I winced as he touched a tender spot there.

I saw the change in him when he saw me wince. He pulled himself back from me and closed everything emotional about him behind a brick wall. It was the closed off Achilles that I watched stand up and walk down the driveway towards the gate. He never looked back at me as he scaled the gate and jumped over.

"Skylla?"

I looked back over my shoulder up to the front door of the house. Ares was standing in the front door looking down at me. I looked back over at the gate, but Achilles was gone. I had a feeling that I might never see him again. It was that knowledge that caused a piece of my heart to grow cold. I let out a heavy sigh as I pulled myself up off of the ground.

"We still need to get your arm looked at," Ares said to me as I walked up the steps. "Alexander already called his doctor. They are expecting us in an hour."

"That's fine," I said as I pulled my phone out. "I just need to call Bobby and then we can head out."

I walked around to the back of the house as I punched in Bobby's number. The sun was just starting to come up over the sea. It was a truly breathtaking sight from the back patio of the house. I had spent many mornings out here drinking a cup of coffee after a run with Ares. It was one of the things that I had missed while I was in Trenton.

"Brown."

"Hey, Handsome," I said as I smiled into my phone.

"Hey, Pretty Lady," Bobby said, instantly perking up. "Are you on your way back yet?"

"I will be," I said as stared out at the ocean. "I just have something that I need to take care of. Then I'll be home."

"I hardly consider the apartment home," Bobby said quietly.

"Then I guess we'll have to work on finding a home," I suggested.

"Really?" Bobby said perking back up again.

"Yeah," I said lightly bobbing my head. "A house. Somewhere close to the office, but out of the Burg."

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked cautiously.

"Did you really think that I was going to be okay with living with Binkie for the rest of our lives?" I teased.

"I suppose you're right. Though he may get a tad bit upset," Bobby said thoughtfully. "You know that he's kind of attached to you."

I sighed heavily. "We'll talk more about this while we house hunt."

"Fair enough."

"I've gotta go," I said after I heard Ares clear his throat behind me. "I'll have Ares drop me off at the office this after noon."

"Did you lose the Bronco?" Bobby asked, I could hear his clothes wrestle as he shook with silent laughter.

"It's not funny, Bobby," I warned.

"We can go car shopping, too."

"Love you."

"I love you, too, Stephanie."

I let out another sigh as I closed my phone and stood up. I took one last look out at the rising sun, saying a silent prayer that the Russians were going to back off after this. Ares' arm slid around my shoulder as we watched some of Angelo's henchmen gather up the dead men that littered the back yard. This wasn't a part of my life that I had ever imagined for myself. It was something that happened and, after some thought, was something that I'd never give up. I slid my right arm around Ares' waist and lightly squeezed him. With a smile on his lips, he turned us towards the house and walked me inside the house and towards a new chapter in my life. Hopefully, a calmer chapter.

_The End... But, to be continued._


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